Children of Prophecy
by sitara85
Summary: The children of the elements are only born every thousand years or so. A group formed to combat the darkness, with powers beyond the imagination and this one will be stronger than all the others. Follow these children as they find out what they are and
1. Escape

Hi everyone,

I am Sitara85 and this is one of two fics that I have recently put on the site. I would love to hear your input on them and which one you want me to continue posting. I have about 5 chapters done for each but they are not betaed and I am editing them at the moment. They are slow at first but will pick up pace. I like to set some background before getting into things. Please review and let me know how you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I'm a broke college student living with my parents and the only stuff that is mine are the characters you don't recognize, the plot, and whatever else you don't recognize from Rowling's amazing works or other pieces of fiction. The idea of elves is partially from Tolkien's works and partially my own imagination.

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**Day 1-Saturday, 8 June, 1996: "Harry's Escape Plan"**

On the way home Harry stared blankly through the window contemplating the events of the last year and wondering what would happen during the summer. He was beginning to think that he would be lucky to survive the summer because it was obvious the threats made by the Order members at the station were not sitting well with his uncle, Vernon Dursley.

Too soon, for Harry's liking, they pulled the car into the driveway. Only moments after the door closed Vernon backhanded Harry, while yelling, "Boy, I told you you'd be in trouble if you told anyone what happens here."

"But sir, I didn't tell them anything they did this on their own."

"Shut up, boy, you will regret ever going to that place and I will be checking all of the letters you send to that lot." Vernon proceeded to beat Harry until he was unconscious and shove him in the cupboard under the stairs.

The next morning as Harry awoke with immense pain coursing throughout his body he checks himself over and finds that he has one broken rib and a sprained left wrist.

A little while later his aunt, Petunia, was coming to wake him up, but was surprised when he was already awake. When she opens the door to his cupboard, he sees her and her son, Dudley, standing there, looking very nervous. Harry walks into the kitchen so they can sit down and talk. Once he sits down, he asks Petunia, "What happened to my stuff and what do you need?"

"Vernon burned your trunk and everything in it. Your bird is still alive but he has her in our room so you cannot contact your crowd while he is out.

"We wanted to talk to you about a way to get us out of here even though I know we have wards around the house to protect us from those dead beater people but we are not safe from Vernon and I am sick of his abuse. In addition, your mother gave me a small chest just before I got married that is upstairs in your room now. Vernon has never noticed it because I think she used magic on it, or something. There are some bottles with some liquid type stuff and some letters with instructions, I'm assuming, but I can not read so you should take a look."

"What about you, Dudley?"

"Firstly, I want to apologize to you for being such a git. I was stupid and foolish for treating you the way I have. Secondly, I wanted to ask if you would teach me how to read and help mom read better. I am sick of what my father does and I do not want to be like him. I want to make my own decisions but I need to know how to read and we thought you could help us get out of here maybe when your friends come get you."

"Do not worry about the way you treated me. If you had not treated me badly then Vernon would have hurt you as well and you would not have been able to help me when you did. Well, I will be happy to help you both with your reading skills and I've been working on a plan this past year to get us out of here which the things in the trunk should be able to help with since there are only a few problems I still had to work out with my plan and Mom probably knew what they were when she made the chest. I'm going to need your help. It is unlikely that my friends will come get me this year because my headmaster wants me to stay under the protection of the blood bond as long as possible. We will be escaping on our own into Muggle London but you'll need to sharpen your reading skills and trust me when we get out there."

"We trust you with our lives. Thank you for your help. I don't deserve it with the way I've treated you, but may I ask why none of the teachers at your school have done anything to help?" Petunia said, with a perplexed look on her face.

"Because in the wearing world the magical population is dwindling so abuse is unheard of. They do not know what abuse is and would never consider physically hurting their children. Even the ones who have hot tempers and might come close to abusing their children never do because they do not want to harm their heir. The only people who know about abuse in the magical world are those who are Muggleborn."

At his family's baffled gazes, he elaborated: "Muggles are non-magical people and Muggleborns are people like you and my mom who are magical but born to Muggles."

"Then why would the wizard world be worried about extinction if it's possible for Muggles to have magical kids and what do you mean, I'm magical?" Petunia queried.

"Okay, as for your first question there are two reasons. The first is that even the amount of Muggleborn witches and wizards is decreasing. The second is that there are many wizards who are pureblood, descended from an all-magical line, that believe that Muggleborns are inferior. Unfortunately, many of those people hold high positions in magical politics and are very influential because they have a lot of money. That prejudice, however, is a bunch of crock in my opinion. My best friend is Muggleborn and the smartest witch in our year." Harry stated with a bit of displeasure leaking into his voice at the thought of people who hold such prejudice.

Aunt Petunia noticed his preoccupation with this topic and gently prompted him to answer her second question.

"Oh right," he said, "one thing I have been keeping from everyone is the true extent of my magical power. I can sense and see magic, thus being able to tell who are witches and wizards or Muggles. In addition, I can tell if there are appearance altering charms or spells placed on people because of being able to see magic. Unfortunately, though, I cannot tell if someone has used a potion to alter his or her appearance. You and Dudley are both magical but I think your magic has gone dormant because you never really learned to read and your magic can sense that. Because reading is needed to learn to control your magic it sort of shut itself off after you reached an age where you should know how to read, however as you learn your magic should begin to unlock itself. As for the second thing I mentioned, you and Dudley both have appearance altering charms on you. I am assuming my mother put them on you because her best subject was charms."

At Petunia's affirmative nod he continued, "I found my mom's journal from school, she could see magic as well and she suspected the same thing as I did about the reading. She also noticed you had green eyes like hers and had found out when she found your great-aunt Elsie's notes and journals that green eyes in our family means the child is magical. I have not found Mom's journal from the last two years before she died although it is probably in that chest but I'm willing to bet that Dudley had green eyes before she did the charm. Though I am curious as to why you had her do them."

Petunia sighs and answers, "I asked her to put one on me because Vernon had expressed his dislike of my red hair and green eyes. Dudley was a different case. Dudley you know I've told you that Vernon is not your biological father?" When he nodded, she went on:

"Vernon does not know that but he had wanted a son and I wasn't getting pregnant. I went to the doctor one day while Vernon was at work. He confirmed my suspicions that the problem did not lie with me so I went to Lily and told her about Vernon's wanting a son and my just wanting a child to love. She impregnated me with some sperm from the store that order, the group she was in, had.

"When you were born it was obvious Vernon was not your father, so Lily put an appearance charm on you, too. That is why we have appearance charms on us."

Harry and Dudley were both thoroughly shocked until Harry redirected the conversation to the plan to get out, sensing that his aunt was uncomfortable with the current topic.

"All right then, I'm going to outline the plan I have to get out of here so far and then read the letters in the chest. While Vernon is gone today, I'm going to talk with the Order guard on duty and ask if I can be informed of whose shift is when so I can have someone to talk to. We will have to stay here for at least two weeks because leaving so soon would be excessively suspicious. I was left some wizard money by my parents and I have had some of it changed to Muggle money. This is hidden and will help us escape to the Muggle world. Before school let out, I bought Muggle-like, magical hair-dye and contacts that change my eye color along with something to cover up my scar for my disguise. For you two I will just take off the charms and get you some of the color changing contacts as well. I need to know what guard is on duty so that we do not try to escape while one of the ones who have ways of detecting us that I cannot get around is on guard when we leave. Right now just act normally and we'll work on reading while Vernon is gone."

When he finished Petunia nodded her understanding and told Harry that her and Dudley would do the inside chores if he would do the outside chores. With that, he headed outside.

Outside in backyard

As Harry is weeding in the back garden a figure looking like Remus Lupin approaches him. He looks at the man and instantly pulls out his wand while starting to question him. The man stops while still five feet away and allows the boy to proceed. The first question:

"Who is Prongs?"

"Your father, James Potter," the man replies calmly, having expected something like this.

Harry frowns, trying to think of a question that only the two of them would know the answer to.

"Why was it so hard for me to learn the Patronus Charm during extra lessons in third year?" he finally poses.

"You said after one of the lessons that part of the reason you could not fight them is because the memory of your parents' death was the first time you heard either of their voices and, while the memory was still not pleasant, you wanted to hear them even if it was their dying moments."

He pockets his wand and gives Remus a hug while saying, "Hey Professor Lupin, how are you?"

"I'm doing fine, Harry," Remus answers, chuckling at Harry's continued use of the formal address, "and it's Remus or Moony, I haven't been your professor for two years."

"Okay Moony. I was wondering if I could be told which Order members are on shift and when so I can know who to look for or call if there is a problem. And I sort of wanted to know so maybe I can just talk to someone about our world since I can't with my family and I'd like to know what's going on from a more reliable source than _The Daily Prophet_," Harry sardonically says.

"Hmm, I think we can work something out. We only have the lists for shifts during a three day period, no more than that, written down so someone can't find out who's working a month from now if the list is lost but I'm sure we could tell you who's on for three days and then inform you for the next three days. I'll ask Albus for you, but I'm sure he won't have a problem with it."

"Thanks. So is headquarters still at that place?" Harry asks mournfully.

Remus answers, "Yes, but the few of us staying have been working on redecorating it. We still have not gotten the old hag's portrait down though. Also, the family curtain is still up too. Tonks, Professor Snape, I, and a new member, Orion Robertson, are staying there. Orion is Aberforth Dumbledore's grandson, Albus's great-nephew."

"That's nice, how's Buckbeak?" Harry queried.

"He's doing fine; his injury Kreacher gave him is healed." Remus continued seeing the dark look on Harry's face at the mention of Kreacher, "and Kreacher has been dealt with by the House-Elf Council (HEC)."

"The House-Elf Council," Harry repeated with a confused expression.

"Yes, house-elves have rules amongst themselves and Kreacher broke one of them when he betrayed Sirius and caused him to be harmed. That is punishable by death so the HEC has taken care of him."

"Oh, okay," Harry muttered blankly. Then he asked, "How have you been doing, Moony?"

"I have been doing all right, Professor Dumbledore has kept me pretty busy so I have not had much time to just sit back and think about things. I'm getting through it though and I hope that I can get to know you better. I have not talked to you much before because I did not feel like it was my place to barge in on your life but a friend has recently pointed out that you do not know many people who can tell you about your parents or for you to just talk to without the fear of being judged or seen solely as the boy-who-lived and that I know what it is like to be judged for something out of your control even if it is in a slightly different way for me. So, if you don't mind I would like to spend more time with you, especially now, you and I knew Sirius best and we will need each other to get through this. I am not asking for you to talk about it now or anything, but if you ever want to hear stories about him or your parents then just ask, okay cub?"

"Thanks Moony," Harry choked out appreciatively and then he started, "Cub?"

"Each of us had a nickname for you when you were little, Lily called you Serpens, I'm not sure why, James called you Meallán, which we think means 'lightning' in Gaelic, he called you his lightning child because you were as full of energy as a lightning bolt, Sirius called you Emerald because of your eyes, and I called you cub."

"Oh, that's cool, ironic about Dad's nickname, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I thought so too when Dumbledore first told me about the mark Voldemort left on you that night. You don't mind if I call you cub do you?"

"No, of course not, I was just surprised is all," Harry responded, "How are Tonks and Kingsley doing? They were injured in the battle, weren't they?"

Remus smiled at his cub's worry and calmly reassured, "They are both out of the hospital and doing much better now. Tonks, as I said earlier, is staying at headquarters and being as clumsy as ever. Her leg is better and she's back to work, although I think she would have liked to have had a few more days off," he said amusedly and Harry chuckled lightly. Then Remus continued, "Kingsley's leg was a little bit worse and he is still off work but he's walking around without his cane now and should be able to get back to work soon. I also heard that the Weasleys are doing fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine physically, but I still can't believe he's gone, you know," Harry said quietly, "It will take time but I think I'll be okay, thanks for talking to me today but I'd better be getting back inside for supper. It was good talking to you Moony, take care."

"It was good talking to you, too, Harry and let us know if you need anything. Orion's going to be on shift tonight when I finish at 7:30."

"Okay, thanks. See you later." Harry called as he walked inside.

Back Inside

As Harry came back inside he went up to his room to get started on reading the letters in the chest his mother left with Aunt Petunia. He picked up the first letter that said on top: _"Harry, read this letter first"_

"_Dearest Son, _

_If you are reading this then it is time for you, Petunia, and Dudley to escape from that place. I'm certain you know I am a Seer already my little Serpens, for I know you will have found my journal from my school days. It is imperative for you to keep an open mind as you read my journal from after Hogwarts, as you have certainly found out from reading my first journal is that some people have walls you must get behind before you truly know them. Hopefully, reading about how he was then has helped you to see what he can be truly like. And, yes, my son I did call you my little Serpens earlier in this letter. For, you see, your first word was Mama in Parseltongue. No, I can not speak it but I can understand it and ever since then you have been your father's and my little Serpens, as we like to call you. _

_Remember that I love you and always will, as does James. You are my pride and joy, my baby boy. From what I have Seen you have grown up to have an odd mix between your father's and my personality. Judging from your looks now you also look an awful lot like him. What I have Seen of your life makes James and myself both immensely proud of you. Helping your aunt and cousin even when they have been horrible to you most of your life being one of the most admirable and courageous things I have Seen you will do. Do not forget that there are people willing to help you and to trust. You will need to trust those you are close to greatly in the times to come, but also, be the little Slytherin I know you are, yes I Saw that too, and be cautious who it is you do decide to trust. I guess what I was trying to say with that last sentence is be careful whom you do put your trust in but do not shut yourself off from the world._

_Another thing you need to know is that not everything in the magical world is what we think it is and some things have uses no one yet knows or will ever possibly end up knowing what they are. I urge you to keep this in mind the next few days especially, but also in the next few years._

_Now, for the instructions concerning the contents of this trunk. There are many potions contained within this chest all clearly labeled and brewed by one of the best potions masters in the world. You will need to take the bone-mending and pain-numbing potions now. In addition, there is a wand specifically made for you by Mr. Ollivander that I had done just a few months ago. Some witches and wizards are so powerful that normal wands will not work as well for them and you are one of them. This wand should fit you better than the first one so do not worry about Dursley having burned it. It is made of the Elder and Ihiyithohino wood twined with a black wax finish, and a Vera phoenix wing-feather soaked in Nozabudiewo venom as the core. If you do not know what that snake is then you will learn soon, do not worry though it is not evil. Even with this wand you will need to make yourself a staff once you have really begun to learn to control and harness your powers. You will still be able to use your wand but there will be spells you will learn that you must use your staff for because your wand will not be powerful enough to perform them. While you may not understand now why a staff is more powerful than a wand you will learn in the future but it would take too much time for me to explain in a letter. The wand has a charm on it to keep the Ministry or anyone else from being able to track magic done with it and to keep the priori incantatem spell from working on your wand so do not worry about getting into trouble for doing magic during the holidays._

_There is also a book on the Animagus transformation for you that your father and his friends wrote. Because of your power and focus as well as the aid of this very well written book you should be able to learn in two weeks how to do the transformation. This is all the more true since you can already turn into phoenixes being the Phoenix Child. However, you need to have a somewhat normal animal form to help you remain inconspicuous in your animal form. Petunia and Dudley should learn as well but not until they have learned to read and grasp basic magic. _

_For now my boy, my little snake, I will need to let you read through my last journal. Please keep an open mind while reading it and remember that your father has always wanted a son, give him a chance for me if not for yourself or for him. After you have finished reading it you will need to read the next letter addressed to you._

_Take care and good luck my little Serpens, _

_Lily Evans_

Just after he had finished the letter he was very curious to read what was in the journal but his aunt asked him to get cleaned up and help with supper. He did so and the night ended with his normal beating and being locked in his cupboard.

The next morning Aunt Petunia made breakfast and woke the two boys. Harry luckily did not have any broken bones so he didn't have to take the bone-mending potion but did take one swallow of the pain-killing potion and the general healing potion. When they finished Harry took them to the sitting room for their reading lesson.

"Okay, to start with I need to know if you know the alphabet and if you know how to write." Harry stated.

Petunia answered, "I know the alphabet, can read a few letters, but can't write except for my name."

Dudley added, "I know the alphabet but I can't read or write." So Harry started with flashcards helping them learn to connect the letter with its written form then started them learning how to write.

The days continued with Harry healing any broken bones he might have, teaching Petunia and Dudley to read and write, doing his homework, working while talking with whichever Order member was on guard, and reading his mother's journal in the evenings. While the nights continued with Vernon's beatings and being locked in the cupboard. Until finally it was two weeks after school was out and they were nearly ready to escape.

Harry had just finished reading the journal. He was very confused and shocked at what he read. He knew he needed to read his mother's next letter so that he could make some sort of sense with what he had learned. It says:

"_My little Serpens,_

_Yes, my little one it is true. James is not your father and never has been in a true romantic relationship with me. I will not repeat that since the reasons for our charade have been thoroughly discussed in my journal. However, there are some things I did not discuss in the journal in case you were not the first one to find and read it. Severus, Remus, and Sirius have all agreed to be memory charmed so as to think that Severus is not and has never been a friend of ours nor that he is your father. My Sev, my love, is about to go on a mission for the Dark Lord that will last a very long time, we are not even sure when he will be able to return and James and I are to go into hiding with you. For yours, mine, and Severus' protection he must not remember that you are his boy. He has brewed the A & D Mimicry Potion, or Appearance and DNA Mimicry Potion as its full name is. We will be adding James blood to it and performing the charm. We will only add enough blood to it for it to work until your 16th year when hopefully all of this mess will be over with. As I have Seen we will be dead by then, you will not be able to take the potion again since it requires the blood of the person you wish to look like and have your blood say you are related to, in order to work. _

_The others have agreed to be memory charmed for our and their safety too and as you know Peter has never known about Severus at all. Remus, being as smart as he is, will probably have figured out by the time you are 16 that he has been memory charmed but will not know what he has been made to forget._

_However, now is the time for me to mention the final steps in your escape. One, your official birth certificate with your true name is enclosed along with two certificates I have arranged for Petunia and Dudley since they will need to go by new names. Until you are able to see your father again you will have to use the other papers I enclosed that include an alternate birth certificate. These are real in the Muggle world but not the wearing world, but your real birth certificate is legitimate in both worlds. Two, there are letters, one each for Severus, Professor Dumbledore, and Sirius. Ice has the letter for his father. Lastly, the countercharm to the glamouries I put on Petunia and Dudley are listed below along with the countercharm to the A & D Mimicry Charm I had to cast on you as a child. However, the potion will only just now have begun to flush out of your body and will not finish until a week or so from the time you read this letter, so you will need to wait until then to take the charm off. I have also listed the countercharm to the memory charms I used on Severus, Sirius, and Remus. Albus never knew so he will not need a reverse memory charm done on him and Sirius' charm may have broken while he was in Azkaban so ask him first. Only you or Ice will be able to cast the countercharm to this memory charm, however, since it is a charm only those from our ancestry can perform._

_Okay, now that I have told you all of that I must tell you something I only just recently found out that I, again, will not put in the journal for safety reasons. I am the heir of Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, and Severus is the heir of Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff. This makes you the heir of all four and one of the most powerful wizards in existence at the moment. Your cousin the Unicorn Child is the other and also an heir of all four founders as his mother is my younger twin sister, you've read about her in my journals I'm sure, and his father is also an heir of Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff only he is the heir of their third-born son, who was the first to have children, while your father is the heir of their fourth-born son. Therefore, Ice is the primary heir of Slytherin and Hufflepuff. You are the primary heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw since you are the first-born son of the eldest magical heir of the two of them. Because your other cousin Mark, yes I have Seen you find that out too, is not the primary heir even though their father is older than I am and male, he is not magical but I am. This is one of the reasons why you and your cousin are the Phoenix and Unicorn Children. You were also only born literally 5 seconds before he was so I can imagine that your bond will be much like, if not stronger than, the bond of most magical twins._

_Now, you will need to get all of the papers you need from this envelope and leave tomorrow morning. There are three robes in the chest that I have shrunk, as soon as you take them out they will resize for the three of you to use. I have set up a room in the Leaky Cauldron for you that was reserved in advance under the name from the alternative Muggle birth certificate. Professor Dumbledore should be receiving a delayed delivery letter from me today informing him to take Remus, Severus, and Sirius to meet you in two days at 3 in the afternoon at the Leaky Cauldron in the back booth. Ice should already be there. You should also go ahead and take Mark with you to introduce him to the magical world, besides you will need to go to his house to call a taxi from there to London anyway. You can explore your Gringott's vaults in the time you will have later this summer. Good luck, much love, and take care my little Serpens._

_Your Mother, _

_Lily_

He then proceeded to take out his official birth certificate and alternate birth certificate, which said:

**Name**: Ash Galen Nahuel Snape **Name**: Aubrey Nathaniel Walters

Date of Birth: July 31, 1980 Date of Birth: July 31, 1980

Time of Birth: 12:01:34 am Time of Birth: 12:02 am

Place of Birth: Gryffin Ctge Godric's Hlw Scot Place of Birth: St. Mark's Hospital Glasgow Scot.

Mother: Lily Angeline Evans Snape Mother: Lilé Maiara Erikson Walters

Father: Severus Schuyler Snape Father: Bearach Ethan Walters

Next were Petunia's papers, which said:

**Name**: Calanthe Aisling Erikson

Date & Time of Birth: January 15, 1958 at 3:33 pm

Place of Birth: St. Paul's Hospital, London, England

Mother: Rose Faith Walters-Evans

Father: Daniel Seth Evans

And then Dudley's:

**Name**: Saiph Alon Black

Date of Birth: May 7, 1980

Time of Birth: 7:22:05 pm

Place of Birth: St. Paul's Hospital, Lon, Eng

Mother: Petunia Nadia Evans

Father: Sirius Orion Black

With those papers placed neatly on his desk next to his clothes Harry walked downstairs to talk to his aunt. When he found her he said, "Aunt Petunia, I am going to dye my hair red now and tomorrow morning I will show you and Dudley how to put in the contacts. They are magical so they can be any color we like and will stay in for one month before we must take them out. Then we will leave, okay."

"That's fine Harry. Vernon is off this weekend to a convention in Italy so he will not be a problem."

**Day 16-Sunday, 23 June, 1996; 7:30 am**

Harry woke up on June 23rd ready to finally leave his own personal hell forever. Petunia and Dudley were also anxious to be leaving. They went into the kitchen and Harry removed the appearance charms on Petunia and Dudley.

He gave them some color contacts he had ordered for them to cover up the green eyes then said, "I have finished reading Mom's final journal and her letters to me and found out that James Potter was not my father but was pretending to be to protect his best friend, my mother, and myself. But the process Mom did with me to make me look like James used a charm and potion, so I can not take the charm off myself and the potion won't be fully flushed out of my system for another week so I'll have to wait to see what I really look like. I have dyed my hair, as you can see and now I will show you how to put on these contacts and make them change eye color."

With that, they went to the bathroom and Harry demonstrated how to put the contacts on your eye, while explaining that they would sting for a few seconds at first because of the charms but then it would not even feel like they have anything on their eyes at all. Once they got them on he told them to concentrate on the eye color they wished to have and the contacts would change to that color. Harry changed his eyes to a soft blue-gray color while Petunia changed hers to a light violet color and Dudley changed his to a piercing black.

Next, Harry took the three robes out of the chest and they resized. One robe was a dark, navy blue that he took to wear himself while he gave the dark, burnt orange-red robe to Dudley and the lilac robe to Petunia. They took the robes and bundled them up until they would need to put them on. Harry got his stuff, shrunk it, and put a weightless charm on it to fit in his pocket. Harry then went to his Aunt and Uncle's room to get Hedwig. He used his new wand to take the lock off of her cage and then he opened the door to let her out. She looked at him funny, as if she was trying to see if it was really him.

He said, "Don't look at me like that Hedwig, I know I look different but it is me. We're finally getting out of here."

Hedwig hopped on his shoulder as if saying it was all right that he looked different and that she understood.

"Thanks girl. I know you still love me. But, girl, in a few weeks you will have to stay with someone else who will be pretending to be me, or well, Harry Potter at least. I found out who my real father is and in a few weeks the charm and potions will wear off and I will look like I am supposed to look. You will have to stay with the fake Harry and not me to keep people from getting suspicious, okay girl?"

She hooted as if to say yes and rubbed her feathery head up against his cheek.

Laughing, Harry said, "That tickles a little Hedwig and I knew you would understand. You are a smart one, after all. I will be staying in the Leaky Cauldron but you should go on to Hogwarts so Professor Dumbledore can get you when he gets the person to pretend to be me. Go on now, I'll see you in a bit."

Hedwig hopped down to his forearm and flew out the window, which Harry had opened, and off into the horizon. With that done, he met his aunt and cousin, shrunk the suitcase each had and got ready to leave.

He told his aunt, "The guard on duty right now is Mundungus Fletcher and I have already arranged a diversion for him. As soon as we hear a crack we can leave."

About half an hour later, they heard a loud crack from the backyard. Harry got up and said, "Okay, now we can head to a friend's house about a block away and call a taxi." With that, he walked outside and down the street. One block over he came to a red brick house with a forest green door and knocked. A young boy, about 11, with messy burnt auburn hair and expressive almond shaped emerald eyes, answered the door. "Hey Mark, it's me Harry, are your parents home?" Harry asked.

Mark hugged him and answered, "Yes, come on in you three. Are you escaping today?"

"Yes, but we need to call a cab from here and talk to you."

They walked into the living room. When Harry saw Mark's parents he said, ""Uncle Nathan, Aunt Victoria it's me Harry and this is Aunt Petunia and Dudley." Nathan stood and greeted them, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Excellent disguise Harry I did not recognize you at all. Are you sure you cannot just tell your headmaster or stay here instead of leaving. We'd be glad to have you and with your disguises you could pass for our relatives."

"No thanks. There are some things I need to do that I cannot with my guard watching me all the time. Also, my mother has arranged a suite in The Leaky Cauldron for us. She recommended that Mark come with me since he will be attending Hogwarts this year and this way I can introduce him to the magical world. Since you are related to me and people will most likely find that out when they start looking for me you might eventually have to come and live in the magical world with us for your protection and if that happens and someone tells you that they are there to take you to live with me do not trust them until they tell you the password phrase 'Alex's shadow crosses the unicorn's war path.'' Is that all right with you?"

"I suppose it would be good for him to learn about the world he will be in for at least the next 7 years so he may go with you. Mark, go on upstairs and pack your clothes then bring your suitcase down here. And Harry you can go ahead and call a taxi to come while he is doing that," Nathan replied.

"Thank you so very much, and stay safe."

"You're welcome, the phone is right through there." Victoria said.

Fifteen minutes later, Mark was back downstairs with his stuff, which Harry shrunk and put weightless charms on then handed back to him to put in his pockets. Ten minutes after that, the taxi was there and Harry, Petunia, Dudley, and Mark left to go to the Leaky Cauldron for the night. Once they got to Charring Cross Road they stepped out of the taxi. Harry paid the driver and he drove away. Then they put on their robes and Harry transfigured Mark's clothes into plain black robes.

**  
**


	2. Vault Explorations

Hey everybody,

Here is chapter 2. I will update chapter 3 in one week or when I get a total of ten reviews, which means I only need nine more. I have it mostly written, I just have to edit it. If anyone wants to beta this for me then please send me an email, my email is on my profile.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is all Jo's, characters you don't recognize are mine. Some names are from commonly known legends. If there are any others that you recognize then they aren't mine, I make no money off of this story.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 2 "The Unicorn Returns"**

**Day 9-Sunday, 16 June, 1996: One week before Harry's Escape"**

In a small town in Quebec, Canada, a young man of fifteen years of age was readying to return to his home country. A place he had not been for five years.

Once he finished packing he shrunk his suitcase, trunk, and carry-on bag. After double-checking that he had everything the young man, commonly called Ice by those who know him, disappeared from his apartment in a swirl of wind and snow. Down a deserted alley in downtown London he reappeared in the same swirl of snow flurries. Checking that everything had remained safe during the journey he started out of the alley to go to the pub his letter told him to go to. As he rounded the third corner, he saw the sign for the Leaky Cauldron and stepped in. Ice walked up to the bartender and said, "My name is Caleb Moon and there should be a reservation for a suite under my name."

"Ah, yes, one second and I shall check the books," the bartender said, "by the way, my name is Tom and I am the owner here, your suite is number 21 on the second floor. Three weeks worth has already been paid for. If you'll follow me it is right this way."

They walked up the stairs to the second floor, which held only two suites, numbers 21 and 22. Tom opened the door to suite 21 and turned to him, saying, "If you need anything at all just call for a house elf or ask me. Snap twice to get a house elf. Please enjoy your stay and here is your key."

Ice spent the week looking around Diagon Alley and Muggle London as well as studying Muggle and magical history and other subjects. He was very excited for Shadow to finally get there and then, one week later, on June 23rd, while he was eating dinner down in the bar of the Leaky Cauldron, Shadow walked in with a few more people. When it did not look like Shadow had seen him, Ice decided to give him a shock and walked up behind him saying, "Hey Shade, do you want to hear the story of how Ash's shadow crossed the unicorn's war path again or would you rather learn about the heirs and the realm of light?"

Jumping, Harry turned around and nearly cursed when he finally saw who it was that had startled him and was now chuckling heartily. He said, "Ice don't you ever do that to me again you brat, 'bout gave me a heart attack."

"Yeah, but you should have seen your face," Ice exclaimed. Then he spotted the people behind Ash and said, "And who might this lovely lady and your other companions be, hmm?"

"Calanthe, Saiph, and Mark," Harry supplied for him. "They are our aunt, her son, and our uncle's son."

"Okay, your suite is probably the one right across from mine, how about you go ahead and get settled then come back down and have dinner with me," Ice suggested.

"That sounds good Ice, we'll do that. See you in a bit," Harry replied.

During dinner, Shadow and Ice caught up with each other and talked about going to the Realm of Light. They also discussed how to help Calanthe to learn to read since Shadow found out that she might be Dyslexic. Ice told them, "That's okay we can get a book on Dyslexia and see if there are any tips for helping someone with it cope and learn to read, but I think we should go to bed now especially since tomorrow is going to be a very long day full of explanations and shocks."

**Day 17-Monday, 24 June, 1996, 8:00 am Ash's (Harry is Ash from now on) room**

"**WAKE UP, ASH,"** Ice shouted in Ash's ear while pouring a cup of ice-cold water over his head. Ash, or Shadow as Ice usually called him, sprung up in his bed nearly knocking heads with Ice and glared furiously at him.

"Ice if you ever do that again I will personally make sure you are never able to have kids, got it?" Ash threatened, but Ice just smiled wryly saying, "Yeah, but it was worth it to see you jump like that. Besides, you are going to have to start getting up much earlier than this for training soon anyway. The only reason I'm not starting you lot on training today is because you and I need to discuss some things before our fathers' and the other two get here this afternoon."

At that, he pulled Ash up and shoved him into the bathroom to get a shower. Then Ice called a house elf to order breakfast and request for it to be served in a half an hour. He also went to Calanthe's room to wake her up. Shaking her lightly on the shoulder he said, "Aunt Cally it's time to get up and go get a shower." She sat up and replied, "Okay, I'm up but why are you waking me up so early?"

"Shadow and I need to talk for a while this morning but you should get a shower and then get the others up to get their showers as well. If you could also call a house elf and have breakfast with everyone here in your room, while Ash and I talk in his, we would greatly appreciate it. When we're done talking we'll come in here and get you lot so we can get ready for the rest of the day, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Go talk to Ash and I'll get in the shower. See you later."

"Thanks."

With that, Ice walked back into Shadow's room and sat down to wait for him to get out of the shower. About five minutes later Ash finished and walked back into the room to get dressed. Ice tossed him an extra plain forest green robe he had so that Ash would not have to wear his school robes. Ash changed into the robe and pulled on the black dragon hide boots Rowan had loaned him then sat down in one of the chairs, across from Ice, in the seating area in the room to talk while eating the breakfast the house-elves had brought up. He noticed that Rowan was also wearing black boots and a moss green robe with two black leather belts slung over the back of his chair, waiting to be put on.

"Okay," Ash started, "first I want to know what your true name is, since no doubt my mom gave you something to inform you to come here and what name to go by."

Ice responded while taking his necklace off, "Yes, she did. This necklace that I have had since I was a baby was a 1st birthday present from her but it is not a normal necklace. She charmed it so only those who know about it can see it and it is truly a chest transfigured into a necklace for safekeeping. A month ago the necklace floated off of my neck and turned back into a trunk automatically because of some sort of time-release spell she used. When I opened it there were letters for me, as well as my real birth certificate, and the instructions for turning the chest back into a necklace, and a wand custom made for me." He set it on the floor, tapped it with his wand, and whispered the words: _"Reveal what is hidden."_

The necklace suddenly turned into a honey-colored wooden chest and Ice opened it. He took out two sheets of paper and handed it to Ash.

"These are my real and fake birth certificates," Ice supplied when Ash gave him a questioning look.

They said:

Name: Rowan Ailill Faolan Lupin  
Date of Birth: July 31, 1980   
Time of Birth: 12:01:39 am   
Place of Birth: Gryffin Cottage, Godric's Hollow, Scotland   
Mother: Jasmine Esmerelda Evans Lupin   
Father: Remus Jocelyn Lupin

Name: Caleb Alexius Moon  
Date of Birth: July 31, 1980  
Time of Birth: 12:04 am  
Place of Birth: St. Mark's Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland  
Mother: Aoife Deirdre Erikson Moon  
Father: Conall Seanan Moon

"My wand is the brother wand to yours but it is made from Elder polished with a silvery wax."

"Figured it would be, Mom knew our nicknames after all and it is just like her to have them waxed in a color that fits them," Ash remarked, "Okay, now, we need to make some sort of list of what we need to do in the next few days."

"First things first," Rowan began, "we need to visit our vaults to get some money, our family robes, and see if there is anything else we could use. There will most likely be better trunks stored in the vaults that we can use. Then, you, Saiph, and Aunt Cally (Calanthe) need new Muggle clothes as well as wearing robes. After that, we should take Mark to get the stuff he will need for school and anything we need for school, once we all get our letters and lists, of course. We should get some money from the vault for Mark so we can also get him everyday robes and dress robes as well as the normal school robes. The rest of the time here we can just train and explore Diagon Alley and Muggle London since we are not completely sure when we will be going to the Realm."

Ash replied, "Sounds good to me. You and I should probably go ahead and look at our vaults now then come back to get ready for our guests tonight. We can go tell the others where we'll be and head out now."

With that, Rowan showed Ash how to tie the belt around his waist and put his on as well. Then, Rowan put his birth certificate back in the chest, and said, "That was the last time that the chest could be changed so it will stay a chest forever now, I'll just go put this up and come back in here while you tell the others where we're headed. Then we can leave."

Once they got to Gringott's they walked up to a desk with a goblin that was currently not attending to anyone else and said, "Excuse us, but we're here to access our vaults. This is our key." They handed the goblin a pure golden key with a diamond in the center of the head. The goblin immediately looked up to inspect them more closely and asked for their full names and state of title. To which they replied, "I am Rowan Ailill Faolan Lupin, primary heir to the line of the Whitetree's of the Elven Realm of Hog's Haven," Rowan proclaimed his rightful title as heir and then Ash proceeded to introduce himself, "and I am Ash Galen Nahuel Snape, primary heir to the line of the Firebird's of the Elven Realm of Hog's Haven." In an instant the goblin's eyes widened and he proceeded, "Yes sirs, my name is Grogin if you should ever require my assistance but I'll need to get my superior to take you to your vault as only the manager and junior manager are allowed down to the vaults of that specific level of security. If you will kindly wait here I will be back in only a moment."

"That's fine," Ash answered and the goblin hurried off to find the manager.

Only a few moments later Grogin returned with the manager who said, "Good morning sirs, my name is Grapplefork and I am the manager of this branch of Gringott's. If you will follow me I will take you to your family vaults." He started walking toward a rather plain looking, dark wood door off to the left as the boys followed. He also asked them, "Is there anything else I can be doing for you gentlemen today?"

"Yes, we would like a complete written record of what is in our trust funds as well as the ancestral vaults. Also, we would like to receive a monthly update on all accounts that are accruing interest, is that feasible?" Ash replied.

"Yes, yes of course we can do a monthly update for you. No problem at all sirs. I will get together the written record of each of yours' holdings up to now while you are looking through your vaults. And I will send the monthly updates to you both starting next month, at the beginning of August." Grapplefork offered.

Rowan answered this time, "That would be wonderful and I also just thought of one more thing that we would like. Do you by any chance have something similar to a Muggle credit card for use in the magical world or in the Muggle world that would take money from a vault we set up for this purpose?"

"Yes we do have a credit card for the Muggle world. We can set you both up with one if you like. It is a little different from Muggle cards in that we do not take a percentage but a fixed rate. It is 8 Galleons per month, you can terminate the account at any time but any partial months in service will be charged the full 8 Galleons. We do not have a credit card for the magical world, but we do have a special money bag. It is charmed weightless, expanded, and to recognize the owner's hand and magical prints. You just put your hand on the bottom where there is a rough outline of a hand and state how much money you need. The money will then be transferred from the checking vault to the moneybag and you can get it out. No one else can use these bags and they are complimentary for members who have more than 25,000 Galleons in their checking vault." The Gringott's manager replied.

"That sounds perfect to me, what about you, Rowan?"

"Wonderful, thank you very much for your assistance Grapplefork, we will not forget your kindness to us today." Rowan praised. Then Ash said, "We would each like to get a Muggle credit card and the magical money bag. If you would go ahead and set up one checking vault for us to share with 20 million Galleons, 50,000 Sickles, and 100,000 Knuts transferred from our joint vault from the founders into it, we would greatly appreciate it."

"That can be arranged quickly," Grapplefork replied, "I will just take you to your vaults now and then see to everything you have asked. When I return to show you how to get out of your vaults, I will have the account summary information as well as the moneybags and credit cards and the paperwork to be signed for those. If I can just get your pictures now so that I can make those cards while you are looking around we can head down to the vaults." With that, he took out a camera, snapped their pictures, and then had them get into the cart to take them down to their vaults.

Riding down to the vault, Rowan and Ash noticed that while the ride was still fast the cart was more comfortable than the others were and the track did not have any other tracks intersecting or branching off of it like the normal tracks. Ash spoke up, questioning, "Why does this track have no other tracks branching from it?"

"This track goes to your vaults as the heirs of the four and only your vaults. Only I, the junior manager, Braxtle, and the two of you can enter the room this cart starts from, so you may come in and go straight to your vaults without assistance in the future if you wish." Grapplefork answered, "You can, of course, bring someone with you to your vaults but they must stay with you at all times if they do not wish to become trapped."

They rode past many stalagmites and stalactites. On one landing they went by they even saw a small Norwegian Ridgeback and two Black Cloud dragons. The cart continued downward as the temperature dropped considerably. Finally, the ride stopped at a small platform coming from the wall on the right side. In the wall, was a beautiful cherry wood door that was large enough a giant could walk through it without having to stoop at all. On the door was a carving of the combined crest of the four founders of Hogwarts about ten feet up and to the left side of the door and right next to it was the crest of the Order of the Emerald Dragon. Grapplefork stepped out of the cart followed by the shocked and gaping young men. He took the key and placed it in the hole placed about four feet above the ground in the middle of the door. As soon as the key was fully in the door, a small stone basin hovered in front of the goblin. He turned to the boys and said,

"You each need to prick your finger with this pin and then allow a drop of blood to fall into this basin. After that, place your right hands on the spots on the door where the Unicorn and Phoenix are depicted. State your English and Elven names along with your title in Wizarding society and Elven society. Also, list your parents' names and from what line you are descended. With that done you should be granted access to the entrance room of your vaults."

Both boys then pricked their fingers and allowed a drop of blood to gather in the basin. Then Rowan placed his right hand on the heart of the rearing unicorn carved at about five feet five inches from the ground on the right side of the door while Ash did the same only on the heart of the phoenix carved on the left side of the door next to the unicorn. As the oldest, Ash went first saying, "My English name is Ash Galen Nahuel Snape, son of Severus Schuyler Snape and Lily Angeline Evans Snape, Phoenix Child, Lord Ambrosius, Lord Gryffindor, and Head of the Lineage of Gryffindor and Pendragon, and hailed from the lines of Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. My Elven name is Inoiwohita Miajorabu Lobushiwo of the Ethowoifa'iz of Heweabi Buwoi Woihino and Diraimiakusu Shiahita."

Then Rowan said, "My English name is Rowan Ailill Faolan Lupin, son of Remus Jocelyn Lupin and Jasmine Esmerelda Evans Lupin, Unicorn Child, Lord Le Faye, Lord Slytherin, and Head of the Lineage of Slytherin and Loxley, and hailed from the lines of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. My Elven name is Zaodidrawoi Luta Guidiwo of the Ethowoifa'iz of Heweabi Buwoi Woihino and Emiasowomi Shiahita." Immediately after he uttered the last word the massive door opened away from them to allow them in.

Once they walked into the entrance hall, they were gaping even more than they were when they saw the door. The ceiling was nearly 30 feet high, white alabaster carved into a dome shape. The floor was made of a beautiful black marble with striking white patterns all along it. Gorgeous, honey colored, oak wood served as the walls and the dome ceiling was charmed to look as if it were the night sky with the appropriate constellations showing for that time of year. Straight across from the entrance door were four doors, each a different color stone. The first one on the left was made of a Black Alabaster, which was really a very dark brown that looked black, then a gray marble stone with silvery-gray and black highlights very fittingly called Storm Cloud Marble, next was a very deep orange marble with black stripes aptly called Orange Tiger Marble, and then was an Ice Blue Marble door that was a very deep blue color with a few highlights of slightly lighter shades of blue. The first door on the left held Ash's monetary inheritance and the next one was Rowan's monetary inheritance. Both of the last vaults were shared by Rowan and Ash. The Orange Tiger vault held all the furniture, weapons, books, musical instruments, and other various items the four founders had left for them. The last vault held their combined monetary inheritance from the four founders. As Grapplefork pointed to the last door to explain what it was he also said, "The founders were very specific with the instructions that only the two of you can take money from this vault even if you are not of age and someone else has control of your finances. Also, you must take the money personally. If you wish, I will take the money from this vault to set up your checking vaults."

"Yes, that would work well," Ash replied and added, "could we have any of our money or other holdings from any inheritances moved to these vaults so that we do not have so many vaults to look after?"

"Oh, I meant to tell you that the founders arranged for that to happen a few months before your 16th birthday so that you would not have to ask that. You can only access the trust funds set up for you by James Potter because his will has technically not been read yet and any further inheritance from him is pending as is the money and holdings from a Mr. Sirius Black because the will has not been read yet, but as soon as both of those wills have been read, those holdings will be transferred. I will go ahead and have the trust funds transferred to a vault that will connect to this room so you can access them from here." Grapplefork stated.

"Thank you for informing us of that. Will the statements denote whom the money or items in these vaults are from?" Rowan asked

"Yes, they will. Now I will be getting up to the offices to do as you have asked and allow you to take a look around. The deeds for all landholdings and companies are in the desks here in the foyer." With that, the helpful goblin went back upstairs.

Since they knew the other vaults just held money and that they would get a statement later that day both boys decided to check out the storage vault first. When both young men were inside the vault, the lights automatically flared to life and both of the heirs were shocked for the third time in less than an hour. Finally, after gaining some semblance of control the heirs began to explore their vault.

It was a very large circular room with the wall made of White Alabaster. The diameter of the room was 55 feet. Dark Cherry wood made up the floor and the 20 foot length, four foot high half-walls that divided each area from the next. A slightly darker stain was used for the floor than for the half-walls, and there were seven half-walls to separate the seven areas the room was divided into. Two trunks sat in the circle in the middle of the room and both young men decided to see how much the trunks could hold before exploring the vault.

One trunk was a beautiful, deep black ebony wood with a fine sheen to it from its polish. It also had gorgeous platinum fastenings and hinges. Etched into the middle of the top was a beautiful picture of a blazing inky black Shadow Phoenix with silver tipped wings, which were spread as if gliding in the air, and glimmering, soul-piercing emerald eyes. A small child with tan skin, a white tunic and pants, midnight black hair that was barely discernible from the glossy black feathers of the phoenix behind him, and eyes that seemed to be every color of the rainbow separately yet all at once was standing tucked up under the phoenix's head. In silvery lettering that flowed and swirled across the trunk almost like it was the written embodiment of the phoenix' tongue was the name _Ash Galen Nahuel Snape_, with his Elven name scribed just above it in the Elven text. There were seven locks on the trunk and one platinum key, with a square-cut onyx and twelve small emeralds surrounding it in the head of the key, sitting on the top of the trunk.

The next trunk was a very earthy Southern Yellow Pine with a clear finish and bronze fastening and locks. A pure white Battle Unicorn with its white horn, wings, and hooves coated with a silvery-golden sheen stood tall and proud in the middle of this trunk. Both wings were spread with their tips touching above its head and a small boy with tanned skin that seemed to glow dressed in a forest green tunic and deep brown leather pants with tawny, golden hair tied with a leather cord at the base of his neck and slung over his right shoulder looked out at the observer with piercing eyes, which seemed to change from the color of the midnight sky with stars twinkling from them to a warm forest green that looked to be overlaid on top of a dark brown soil color that belied the child's ties to the forest. _Rowan Ailill Faolan Lupin_ was written across the trunk in a script that was decidedly masculine but still had a soft, natural look to it. His Elven name was also written above his English one like Ash's was on his trunk. Also, there were seven locks on this trunk as well and a bronze key, with a triangular shaped diamond and twelve small emeralds around it in the head of the key, sitting on the top.

Driven by some strange instinctive, irresistible pull each young heir picked up the key to their respective trunks and placed it in the palm of their wand hand, right for Ash and left for Rowan. Suddenly, the keys seemed to melt into their palms and what appeared to be small exact tattoo replicas of their respective keys showed up on their index fingers while they watched, transfixed at the site. Without knowing how they knew the information, both boys now understood that their trunks could only be opened by themselves no matter how someone else tried.

"Well, what do you say we spend a few minutes checking out our trunks and see what all these compartments are for, eh?" Rowan asked his cousin.

"Sure," Ash replied, "sounds like a plan to me. But we should limit our exploration to no more than 20 minutes. Right now, we just need to know how much stuff we can put in our trunks from this vault and still have room for some of the stuff we already have. We can thoroughly explore later."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go, I want to see what's in my trunk." Rowan stated, almost petulantly.

As they opened the first compartment the trunk turned on end and they saw that it was for school supplies as one side had shelves to stack old and new school books, as well as drawers for parchment, ink, and quills, and the other side had a small hanging rack for school robes and a few extra outfits with a place to put shoes up underneath and drawers for underwear and socks. Closing the trunk again they placed their fingers to the next lock. Again, the trunk opened in the same manner but one side had places to keep brooms, broom cleaning kits, Quidditch robes and gear, while the other appeared to go back at least 5 feet deep and had room for other Quidditch equipment and/or other sports equipment.

At the third compartment, however, the lid just lifted upwards and a ladder came up out of the bottom of the trunk. Shrugging, the boys decided to climb down. Once they were down in their respective trunks they found potions workrooms the likes of which Professor Snape would drool over with doors to potions storerooms that contained many different ingredients, some being so rare that no one had used a potion involving them in centuries. Climbing out of the trunk, Ash and Rowan just stood gaping at each other in shock of what was inside.

Not even able to imagine what more could be in their trunks they closed the lids and opened them for the fourth time. The ladders rose up again and again both boys disappeared into the depths of their trunks. This time they found a library at least half the size of the one in Hogwarts with rows upon rows of books and one corner of the room held a desk and desk chair, two armchairs, a couch, and a coffee table making a very effective study/reading room area.

Again, in the fifth compartment there were two rooms connected like the potions rooms were. One room was a Muggle martial arts training room equipped with hanging punching bags, dummies to practice hitting vulnerable spots, a mat on the floor, floor to ceiling mirrors on two walls, weapons on one of the remaining walls, and some extra floor space to add more equipment. The next room, which was connected to the first one through a door on one of the walls, was set up for magical dueling purposes. It was semi-circular in shape and had a large circular platform raised a foot off the floor in the middle of the room. About four feet of floor space was in between the rounded wall and the platform with the platform nearly connecting with the flat wall of the semi-circular room. Magical dummies that told you the power and accuracy of spells you cast were hung up on the flat wall.

In the sixth compartments of their trunks was the most shocking thing yet. As the boys lowered themselves into this compartment it was like they were walking outside. The compartment was very forest-like with grass, trees, rocks, and even streams running in it. It was a perfect place for their owls, and any other pets they might get, to stay in when they needed to travel. However, even though the boys thought nothing else could shock them at this point, they were speechless when they descended into the seventh compartment of their trunks.

Each trunk had living quarters as its seventh compartment and in each living quarter there was an average sized sitting room with a meeting room branching off from the left side and a kitchen branching off from the right. An island bar counter separated the kitchen from the sitting room and low, three foot high half-walls separated the meeting rooms. Straight across from the ladder was a curtained opening to the bedroom with 4 ½ foot high half-walls separating it from the rest of the room. Inside the bedroom to the left were tall screens hiding the toilet, sink and large, Jacuzzi style bath tub/shower combinations from view. The beds were in the middle of the room with the headboard about five feet from the wall. Behind the beds were the dressers and even some hanging space, with shoe racks on the floor underneath the racks and room to change. To the right side of the room were two doors, one of which connected the two trunks together. This feature makes it possible for Ash and Rowan to get to each other even if they are not in the same country because the door works sort of like a portkey to take them to the others' trunk. The other door went to a hallway that allowed them to access the other compartments of the trunk.

With the exploration of their trunks finished for the moment they decided to start going to the right of the room and work their way back around to the door. Ash and Rowan had cast levitating charms on their trunks to float behind them, so they walked into the first area and were only slightly amazed to find a mini-library with many bookshelves filled to the brim with books of all kinds, after what they had seen in their trunks. There were books on Transfiguration, Animagi, Metamorphmagi, Light Creatures, Dark Creatures, Cursed Creatures, Potions, Household Charms, General Charms, Dueling, Defensive Magical Theory, General Magical Theory, Muggle Defense, Muggle and Magical History, Philosophy and Religion, Psychology, Mathematics and Science, Languages, Herbology and Muggle Horticulture, Occlumency and Legilimency, Pranks, Strategy, Muggle Healing and First Aid, Magical Healing, and a section of Muggle and magical fiction books for enjoyment. Ash turned to Rowan saying, "As much as I am sure we both would love to just browse in that library for the rest of the day we should just grab some books on Animagi, Defense, Occlumency, and pranks for now until we can come back when we have more time to just look around. We should also bring my friend, Hermione here, she would love this place."

"Yes, from what you have told me about her, I'm sure she would. However, we should get those books like you said and look around the rest of the place since it is already 10:00 AM and we should go back to the rooms for lunch so the others do not get worried." And with that Rowan walked into the library area towards the Animagi books while Ash moved towards the books on Occlumency.

Rowan immediately noticed a small, journal sized, dark purple, almost black, leather bound book. Pulling it out he saw the title Animagi: the Human Connection to the Inner Animal, subtitled _A Guide to Finding Your Animal Counterparts and Becoming Them_, written in a flowing, elegant script with bronze ink. Opening it to the first page he found that it was written by Merlin and decided to take it out from the vault. Looking briefly at the other books on Animagi he did not see any that caught his fancy so he turned to the Dueling and Defensive Theory sections to pick out a few books. He added Fighting and Fleeing: the Soldier's Guide to Knowing When to Act (by Godric Gryffindor), Stealth and Observation (by Paranos Marksmen), and Defensive Magic: What Constitutes Defensive Magic? (by Maiara Goldstone) to his collection and then decided to see what Ash had picked up.

Hence, the young Unicorn Child ambled over to his cousin, who was currently in the prank section. When he was standing beside Ash, the Phoenix Child said, "I picked out two books on Occlumency called, Meditation Techniques: a Beginner's Guide to Controlling Your Emotions and Magic (by Helga Hufflepuff) and Occlumency: the Art of Defending Your Mind and Deceiving a Legilimens (by James Potter). I also picked up three books on pranks titled, The Art of Prank Warfare (by Art Hilarus), Potions, Charms, and Spells: How to Combine Methods of Pranking (by Remus Lupin and Severus Snape), and finally The Legend of the Marauders: The Original Hogwarts Four and their Legacy (by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Helga Hufflepuff). Do you think we should check and see what sort of Magical Theory books we have?"

"Sure, there might actually be something worthwhile in here instead of the rubbish in modern stores," Rowan responded. So, the boys strolled over to the Magical Theory section to browse the selection. While they were looking Rowan also showed Ash what books he had picked out. Ash came across something interesting first. He took the medium sized, emerald green, dragon hide book from the shelf, just as Rowan found an interesting burgundy cowhide leather book which he pulled down from another shelf. Turning the book he had in his hand over to see the front, Ash saw the title Magickal Sight, subtitled _Unlocking the Mysteries of Magickal/Magical Theory_, by Lily Snape and Jasmine Lupin. Then Rowan showed Ash the book he had taken down which was titled Faopes, Elufas, and Humans: the Difference in Magical Energy and Approaches, by Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each boy had made sure to grab an extra copy of the books they had picked out from the sections they assigned themselves and so they split the books between them, each having one copy of every book they chose to take with them that day, and placed them carefully in the libraries of their respective trunks. With that done, the two young men strode over to the next area in the vault.

Upon entering the second storage area they found cauldrons of all shapes, sizes, and makes as well as shelves upon shelves of ingredients. The potions ingredients were separated by volatility, temperature-controlled, and all others firstly. Then they were sorted by whether it was from a plant or an animal and, lastly, in alphabetical order by what plant or animal it came from. Such as, the Dragon parts were all grouped together and the different parts of the Purple Poppy were grouped together and so on and so forth. Ash and Rowan decided to get what potions ingredients were not already in the potions' storerooms of their trunks and leave the rest of the ingredients in the vault. Since they already had the pewter, standard size two cauldron for school they picked out other cauldrons that they knew they would need for certain potions. Finally, they came to a beautiful cauldron large enough for both of them to fit in comfortably. It was made of a magical stone, called Rainbow Lake Crystal, as the stone was a clear color with ribbon-like swirls of emerald green, ruby red, silver, gold, royal blue, violet, and pure black floating inside the clear stone. The boys decided to put this cauldron in Rowan's trunk and give it to Ash's dad to use.

The third area of the vault held musical instruments of all sorts. Trumpets, flutes, lutes, fiddles, harps, and drums of all sizes filled the place. Rowan picked out a gorgeous mahogany lute and carefully placed it in its equally beautifully black iron case with mahogany wood inlays then transferred it into his trunk while Ash found a wooden flute (recorder style) made from Macassar Ebony that he transferred to his trunk after putting it in its oak wood case. They also picked up some of the Elven instruments that were in this area. Ash got some Buenukus (Elven standing drums) and Kichuses (Elven violins) while Rowan got some Kusukeyes (Elven hanging drums) and Fameles (Elven flutes). That finished, they went to the next area of the vault.

Entering the fourth area of the vault they saw that it was mainly old furniture and, since they had no need for furniture because the trunks were already fully furnished, they made their way to the next area, which they found was full of clothes and jewelry.

There were sets of robes for the Phoenix and Unicorn Children, which Ash and Rowan immediately took and draped across their arms. Ash's Phoenix robes were a deep purple. A pure white Vera Phoenix had its head on the left shoulder with one wingtip stretched toward the right shoulder while the other stretched around left ribs and arm and touched the wingtip of a Shadow Phoenix that had its head resting at about the area above the left ribcage and the other wingtip stretched to touch the wingtip of the Vera Phoenix that was at the right shoulder of the robes. White and silver embroidery of runes, ivy, and phoenixes went around the neck, bottom, and slits; white and silver embroidery of runes, ivy, and unicorns was on the arm cuffs. The cloak that went with it was a midnight violet with white fur lining that would remain cool in summer but warm the wearer during the winter.

The Unicorn robes were the same deep purple but the picture was of a rearing Thenyinus (Elven Battle) Unicorn leader. The metallic black, silvery-golden sheen covered horn pointed toward the left shoulder while the head and body wrapped around the right ribs and arm, the wings spread across the front and back of the right shoulder and arm. A Thenyan (High Elven) Unicorn was facing toward it with its pure white, amber sheen covered horn pointing toward the Thenyinus' horn. Its head and body wrapped around the left ribs and arm with its wings wrapped around the front and back of the left shoulder and upper arm. White and silver embroidery of runes, ivy, and unicorns went along the neck and the bottom of the robes while white and gold embroidery of runes, ivy, and phoenixes went around the cuffs of the arms. His cloak was the same as Ash's cloak.

Next, the boys took the traditional clothes worn with their different titles and some other traditional clothes of the time of the founders. With these robes came the cloak clasps belonging to each family. The Gryffindor cloak clasp was a golden phoenix with its wings spread and tiny ruby, orange, and yellow stones throughout the wings with orange stones for the eyes. A white gold coiled snake with tiny stone scales of emerald, jasper, and obsidian was the Slytherin cloak clasp.

Then, they came across the typical clothes an Elf would wear that consisted of tunic-like, long-sleeve shirts, loose fitting pants, moccasin type shoes or sandals, and lightweight over-robes that stay open in the front to show the clothes underneath. The pants and shirts were made of Elven Chameleon Silkworm thread, called Shinoizahin, twined with cotton and came in various earthy colors like dark brown, forest green, moss green, sky blue, dark blue, tans of varying shades, blood red, white, grays, and black. The shoes were made from an Elven leather, called Soratai, that was a very light brown, but can be dyed, and the over-robe made of purely Shinoizahin thread that was a silvery gray most of the time but would allow one to blend in with his or her surroundings if he or she so wished. Some of the Soratai belts that tied around the waist with the ends hanging down were also with these clothes.

Battle robes were the next item to be picked up. Ash's and Rowan's both had under layers made of dragon hide with Ihiayiwo, an Elven silver-like metal, twined within the material to increase the protection from magical spells and protect from someone seeing through the material. Both the pants and shirts would shrink to size and both were a silvery-white color. The under layer shirt had a high turtle neck collar and the sleeves went down to just below the wrist; the pants went down to just below the ankle.

The next layer was the shirt and pants, the pants were loose and allowed a lot of room for long strides or kicking, the shirts were a lot like V-neck Karate tops but they came down to just above the knees and the arms stopped at the elbow. They were made of Hivoluami, an Elven thread made from the leaves of an Elven tree, twined with Ihiayiwo, to keep people from seeing through them to check for weapons or other hidden articles. Dark brown Soratai belts went across the waist of the shirts like a karate belt but with no knot and no ends hanging down.

Rowan's pants were a dark brown with tan colored Soratai patches on the knees; his shirt was a dark forest green with light green colored Soratai patches on the elbows. Ash's pants were the same color as Rowan's with the leather patches on the knees as well, but his shirt was a dark, wine red also with elbow patches, which were a light rose red.

An over-robe completed the ensemble, designed to stay open in the front to show the clothes beneath, the robes looked a lot like trench coats without the buttons down the front. The arms stopped just above the elbows with the sleeves of the shirt extending from underneath. The bottom was right at mid-calf level and the robes were made of Shinoizahin Pewoita, an Elven chameleon silkworm thread. The clasps were made from Ihiayiwo shaped like leaves with green crystal inside the outline. The boots came up to right below the knees, going over the dragon hide under layer, they were made from dark brown dragon hide that blended in with the pants and Ihiayiwo was also twined within the material to make them stronger.

There were also four wand holsters, two made from Chuzagumi, an Elven sheepskin, twined with Ihiayiwo and two made with Johidilu, an Elven metal that is like a mix of gold and pewter, and Demiguise hair. These two holsters will turn invisible as soon as they are put on. There was one of each for each boy. Each article was spelled to fit the wearer as soon as they first put them on.

Finally, they started to look through the jewelry. Not being very interested in the necklaces or bracelets they saw because neither of them had any female interests to give them to yet, they started to look through the earrings wondering if they would find something they like. No sooner had both boys thought this than they were looking at two earrings that seemed to be missing their other half and to go along with their family robes cloak clasps. One earring was a golden phoenix with its wingtips touching above its head instead of spread out, but the rest of its features were the same as Ash's cloak clasp, except on a smaller scale, so he put it in his pocket. The other earring was a white gold coiled snake that was exactly the same as Rowan' clasp except smaller and coiled the opposite direction. After pocketing it he turned to Ash saying, "Well, I have always wanted to get my ear pierced so I guess I just have to find a place to get it done at now."

"Yeah, me too," Ash replied. They put their clothes in their trunks and headed out of the clothing area.

Moving into the sixth area, they found racks upon racks of weapons. They took a few of the different swords as well as a Bo staff, nunchukus, daggers, throwing knives, and throwing stars. Ash immediately noticed a scabbard missing its sword so he walked over to get a better look at it. It was a semi-hard case made from what appeared to be thinly cut balsa wood lined with Elven sheepskin soft leather, called Chuzagumi, and wrapped in a dark blood red and obsidian black colored dragon-hide. The Elven characters on the case, however, are what caught the Phoenix Child's eye as one was the character for the Phoenix Child while the other was the Elven name of Godric Gryffindor. Immediately upon seeing that name, he knew which sword belonged to this case and resolved to ask the headmaster what happened to it when he would see him later in the day. Rowan was inspecting a Zabuihi bladed, an Elven steel, sword with a hilt and cross guard that were wrapped in a very dark green, almost black leather. It also had a brilliant emerald cut in a diamond shape surrounded by tiny diamonds making the combination an oval shape set into the intersection of the cross guard and hilt. The scabbard was made of the same thinly cut balsa wood and lined with Chuzagumi as Ash's, but was wrapped in a deep hunter green and silver dragon-hide. Elven characters for the Unicorn Child and the name Salazar Slytherin were etched into it. The boys also picked out a number of the Elven weapons and some slingshots and stones.

The seventh and final area of the vault held a variety of incense and two magical journals. The two journal volumes they got were metallic red and black with silver writing stamped across that said _Ash Galen Nahuel Snape_, and metallic green and white hunter green with gold-bronzeish lettering that said _Rowan Ailill Faolan Lupin_. They could add the date by saying "Scribo vicis (the date(s))." Lastly, the boys perused the variety of candles and incense picking out the ones with prudent uses, such as strengthening, relaxing, mind clearing, sleep inducing, and nausea reducing scents.

With their findings tucked safely away in their trunks the two young heirs made their way back into the entrance chamber of the vaults. When they did not see Grapplefork waiting for them Ash questioned, "Shall we look in the desks at the property deeds and company shares we have while we wait for Grapplefork's return?"

Rowan nodded and they headed over to the desk that was a few feet away from the door to the cart platform and opened up the two drawers on the left-hand side to see what was in them. In the top drawer were extra quills, ink, and their personal stamps of authenticity. Since there were two of each family seal stamp and four of the Unicorn/Phoenix Child stamp, they both took one of their family seals to use and one, each, of the joint Unicorn/Phoenix Child seal to use. Then the second drawer had what they were looking for. Two stacks of parchments stood. One being Ash's stack and the other being Rowan's.

Ash's land properties from Gryffindor were White Cloud Estate in the Alps in Switzerland off of the Rhone River, and Griffin's Lair in the forested mountain lands of England. Company holdings included: Woodsmen Wares, which was started by Godric Gryffindor and provided broom makers, wand makers, instrument makers, and builders with the needed wood, and Excalibur's Swordsmen, a company which crafts all sorts of weapons and trains people to use them, from Arthur Pendragon.

Rowan's land properties from Slytherin were Black Smoke Mountain in northern Scotland near Loch Ness Lake and by the Caledonia Canal about two hours from Inverness, and Serpent's Cave in a magical oasis in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea. His companies from Slytherin and Loxley: a magical equestrian training stables, complete with horses and grounds, called "Sherwood's Knight Training stables, from Robyn Loxley. Salazar Slytherin had started a company called Prime Potions Property, which is the mother company of three others consisting of: Ready Made Potions to sell to apothecaries or directly to buyers, Seamless Cauldrons-making cauldrons of all materials and sizes to sell to cauldron shops across Europe, England, and Ireland, and also Flawless Phials-making crystal, glass, and specialized phials to sell to supply shops in Europe, England, Ireland, and America. The deeds and other holdings they inherited from Sirius and James were not yet transferred because neither wills have been read yet.

Both young men took their land property and company deeds and placed them in bindings, the metallic red and black for Ash and the metallic green and white for Rowan.

At half past twelve, Grapplefork came back in with the account summaries, cards, money bags, and set up the two connecting vaults for the trust funds with a wave of his hand. After the two new doors appeared he handed the summaries to each young man to peruse and organize in their book binders.

Rowan looked at his account summary, which said:

**Pending from:**

Sirius Black:

_Monies_: 485,933,891 Galleons (G) 477,060 Sickles (Si), and 483,995 Knut (K)

**Other**:

_Landholdings_- Grim Manor-northern coast of Spain, halfway between Santander and A Caruña

_Companies_- Midnight's Silver Light Store, in London proper not far from Charring Cross Road

_Furnishings, etc_- all furnishings and material possessions within Grim Manor and the MSL Store

James Potter:

_Monies_: 745,850,644 G. 984,525 Si. 1,877,685 K.

**Other**:

_Landholdings_- Merlin's Overlook-southern coast of France, halfway between Nice and Marseille

_Companies_- Tactile Textiles, White Alder Way, branching off of Poplar Park near Hogsmeade

_Furnishings, etc_- all furnishings and material possessions within Merlin's Overlook and Tactile Textiles

**Available holdings from:**

Trust Fund: 601,020 G. 4,683 Si. 135,930 K. (contributed to by James and Adhara Potter, and Remus and Jasmine Lupin)

Morgaine Le Faye:

_Monies:_ 2,100,457,735 G. 10,209 Si. 18,573 K.

**Other:**

_Landholdings-_ Fairy Court, castle on the northern coast of Africa, in the middle of a magical

oasis

_Companies:_ Fairy Lights, office in the Fairy Court

_Furnishings-_ All furnishings in the vaults and in the abovementioned landholdings

Slytherin & Loxley:

_Monies_: 2,060,812,863 G. 9,958 Si. 20,759 K.

**Other:**

_Landholdings_-Black Smoke Mountain, Scotland

Serpent's Cave, Egypt

_Companies_- Prime Potions' Properties (Salazar), office located in Oakwind Court

Sherwood's Knight Training, office located in the main stables

_Furnishings, etc_- all furnishing & material possessions within the landholdings and the companies

Ash's account summary said:

**Pending from:**

Sirius Black

_Monies_: 485,933,891 G. 477,060 Si. 483,995 K.

**Other**:

_Landholdings_- Alphard's Island, located on an island between Sardinia and Sicily

_Companies_- Warrior Warlocks' Weapons Supply Outlet, Oakwind Court, just off of Diagon Alley

_Furnishings, etc_- all furnishings & material possessions in Alphard's Island & WWW Supply Outlet

James Potter:

_Monies_: 745,133,898 G. 984,525 Si. 1,877,685 K.

**Other**:

_Landholdings_- Sapphire Isle, an island off the northern coast of Scotland

_Companies_- Fearless Flyers, office located in White Alder Way

_Furnishings, etc_-all furnishings and material possessions within Sapphire Isle and Fearless Flyers

**Available holdings from:**

Trust Fund: 600,989 G. 4,590 Si. 135,921 K. (contributed to by James and Adhara Potter, and Severus and Lily Snape)

Merlin Ambrosius:

_Monies:_ 2,085,347 G. 9,050 Si. 20,859 K.

**Other:**

_Landholdings-_ Merlin's Keep, a castle in the air

_Companies-_Merlin's Minds, office wherever new Lord chooses

_Furnishings-_ All furnishings in the vaults and in the abovementioned landholdings

Gryffindor & Pendragon:

_Monies_: 2,100,432,439 G. 8,755 Si. 22,984 K.

**Other**:

_Landholdings_-White Cloud Estate, Switzerland

Griffin's Lair, England

_Companies_-Woodsmen Wares (Godric), office located in Rowan Drive, just off of Poplar Park

Excalibur's Swordsmen, office in Birch Alcove, off of Hogsmeade

_Furnishings, etc_- all furnishings and material possessions within the landholdings and companies

**_Shared holdings:_**

**Pending from:**

Sirius Black:

_Landholdings-_ Black Manor, 12 Grimmauld Place, also owned partly by Saiph Black

_Furnishings, etc_-all furnishings and material possessions contained within the Black Family Vault and Black Manor except for those which are specifically marked for other people

James Potter:

_Landholdings_- Potter Manor in the south of Scotland and Gryffin Cottage in England

_Furnishings, etc_-all furnishings and material possessions contained within the Potter Family Vault

**Available holdings from:**

The Founders:

_Monetary bequests:_

_Normal Vault_: 21,054,178,935 G. 150,833 Si. 398,720 K.

_Checking Vault_: 20,000,000 G. 50,000 Si. 100,000 K.

**Other**:

_Landholdings_-Phoenix Counsel Bastion, on 355 acres of land within the Emerald Forest in Ireland

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Scotland

Ahearn Nuada Caedmon Brac's Children's Home (no longer in operation), in Ireland

_Companies_- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

ANCB's Children's Home

_Furnishings, etc_- all the furnishings and material possessions within Phoenix Counsel Bastion and ANCB's Children's Home, as well as Hogwarts (except, of course, for what the students and employees bring with them while they live at the castle), and the furnishings and material possessions within the Phoenix/Unicorn Child Vault in Gringott's

The Round Table Four:

_Monetary Bequests:_ 100,204,563 G. 200,680 S. 458,922 K.

**Other:**

_Landholdings_- Avalon, on a protected island off of Ireland

_Furnishings, etc.-_ All that was left in the vaults or in the abovementioned landholdings

**Charity funds:**

Vault 1: 250,000,000 G. 100,000 Si. 450,000 K. pending from Sirius Black,

450,000,000 G. 185,000 Si. 370,500 K. pending from James Potter,

550 million Galleons available for use (from the Founders)

The one vault set up for charity funds does not, currently, fund any of the existing charities in the Muggle or magical worlds. This vault has been set up for the creation of new charities.

Note: Albus Dumbledore has continually tried to gain access and control of the various vaults under each of your names. As the will was executed here at Gringott's we one of three original copies, none of which can be altered. Please make an appointment with the Last Wills and Testament department to have readings of the Potter, Lady Lupin, Lady Snape, and Black wills.

When they finished reading their statements and organizing them in the book binders (Ash used his metallic red and black one while Rowan used his metallic green and white one), along with the ledgers to record transactions, they informed Grapplefork, "We would like to go back up now."

"All right," the goblin replied, "all you have to do is stand on top of the dragon in the Order of the Emerald Dragon crest that is on the floor and say, "Return me whence I came," and you will be returned to the little room that the cart starts out in. If you bring anyone with you then they must be standing on the crest with you and you must be holding on to them, or else they will be stuck in here until you come back.

Once they were back outside in the fresh air, Ash said, "Let's head back to the Leaky Cauldron and have lunch with the others before this afternoon's meeting." With that, they headed back to the rooms to see how the others were doing.

**End Chapter 2**


	3. Fathers

Hi,

Here is the third chapter. I would love some feedback, review please. I don't have the whole story written and am welcome to suggestions. Give me some ideas about what pairings you want, etc. I only have 2 pairings that will be set in stone, I am not changing those two and those are the pairing with Rowan and his girlfriend and Remus and his girlfriend. Any others are fair game, though I will not be writing slash. Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.

Disclaimer: Not mine, all Rowling's, except for the people you don't recognize, those are mine.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 3**

**Day 17-Monday, 24 June, 1996, 2:30 pm "Meeting of Fathers and Sons, and Memory Charms"**

At two-thirty that afternoon, Ash and Rowan migrated downstairs to the bar and restaurant area of the Leaky Cauldron in order to wait for their guests. Cally, Saiph, and Mark had decided to remain in their room while the group met because they had been warned about Snape's temperament and did not wish to see his reaction to the information he would be told. When they entered the pub area both boys immediately noticed a young girl sitting alone in one of the back booths. Ash, recognizing the girl, decided to go sit with her and so he walked over to her table with Rowan trailing behind. He put his hands on the table to alert her to his presence when she did not look up. Then, having her attention, he queried, "Is it all right if my cousin and I sit with you, Miss? We are waiting for some people and would greatly enjoy some company while we do so, if you don't mind?"

"No, of course I do not mind. I could use some company as well," replied the girl, "by the way, my name is Hermione Granger, what is yours?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I completely forgot to introduce myself didn't I?" Ash replied sheepishly, "I am Ash and this is my cousin Rowan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hermione, my cousin has told me much about you," Rowan added.

Hermione murmured, "Well, I am not sure how he knows about me since I only just met him."

This caused Ash to grin as he sat down across from her and scooted into the booth to make room for Rowan. He informed her, "Actually 'Mina, you have met me you just have not seen me like this before is all."

"Harr," she started, recognizing the nickname that only he used, when Ash reached across and clamped his hand over her mouth and said, "That is no longer my name and, under the circumstances, you should not call me that anymore at all. We are meeting Snape, and Lupin as well as a friend of theirs, here at three o'clock and you can come up to my room with us where things will be explained, okay?" He pulled his hand away as he said this and his tone softened a bit near the end. As she nodded he added, "Why are you sitting here alone, 'Mina?"

"My uncle is sick so my parents went to the US, where he lives, to be with him, and since my grandma went there as well, I am staying here for now because I did not want to impose on the Weasley family. Also, I did not want to spend the summer with Ron for reasons I am sure you are already aware of."

"Yep, anyway, you should join us in our suites because they are more protected than the rest of the rooms in this place. Mom prearranged the lodgings here for us, you'll find out why and how later, and also requested that specific warding spells and charms be placed on the suites. She also listed some extra wards and charms, for us to put up once we got here, in her letters. So, will you join us? One of us can have a room put on the suite and I am pretty sure you have not even gotten a room yet if the luggage sitting next to you and Crookshanks howling in his carrier is anything to go by."

"Sure, all right I will join one of you," 'Mina promised.

Rowan supplied, "I'll have Tom put a room on my suite since Ash already has three people with him and that way rent will not be as much." With that, he rang the bell on the table to acquire the bartender's attention. Tom hurried over to their table and asked, "How may I help you young gentlemen and lady?"

"I would like for another room to be added to my suite. Please have someone take her luggage up to the new room and let the cat out. Also, if you could have a bowl of warm milk and some fresh tuna in another bowl put in the room for the cat I would greatly appreciate it," Rowan answered.

"That is no problem. The extra room will be 4 Galleons and twelve Sickles a night. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that is all. Thank you," Rowan responded. Tom headed back to the bar, with Hermione's luggage floating behind him, to inform one of the house-elves of the changes in Rowan's suite. The three teenagers went back to their conversation. They sat and talked until the three men showed up. The particular booth the three were sitting in was situated so that one side faced the exit to the Muggle world and the other the exit to Diagon Alley. Because Hermione was sitting on the side facing the exit to Diagon Alley, she was the first to notice the Potions' master of her school and two other men enter the room. The three men were all around the age of thirty-five. It was about five minutes before three o'clock as all but one of the men in the group is always punctual to everything and all three had felt the urgency and importance of this meeting from the mysterious letters they had received only days prior. Hermione pointed out their arrival to her companions and the three stood from their table to walk to the bar and greet the men. Hermione greeted them first, as they knew and recognized her, saying,

"Hello professors, sir, how are you doing today?"

"We are doing just fine Hermione," Remus replied, "How are you and what brings you here today?"

"My parents had to go to America to visit my uncle and will not be returning before the start of school so I am here. And I am doing excellently as well, especially since I ran into these two. I believe that they are the ones you are meeting up with here so I'll just introduce you now," she pointed to each as she stated their names, "This one is Ash and that one is Rowan."

She smiled and said, "They have some other letters for you to read."

Ash spoke up then, "Please follow me, we will be conducting this meeting in my room as it is more private." With that, he turned and began to walk up the stairs with Hermione beside him. Two of the men looked at each other, shrugged, and started up the stairs themselves, the third scowled a bit but followed none-the-less. Rowan took up the rear.

The three men grew curious when the young man called Ash stepped out on the second floor as it was the floor typically used for suites that Seers would arrange years in advance of the date the suites would be needed. These suites also tended to be fairly nice, though not overly lavish, and usually were very well warded.

Walking into the room, the men found that it was a bedroom/sitting room combination and had three doors leading off from the room. There was a queen sized four poster bed in the center of the room with the headboard about four and a half feet away from the wall behind it creating another little area to the room where the dresser stood and a little changing area was created that was enlarged once you enter it. The bed was draped in a midnight black bedspread with a silver lining turned down at the head of the bed to reveal a part of the sheets that looked like very soft and comfortable dark, navy blue, purplish sheets and fluffy pillows clothed in pillow cases that were a swirl mixture of the midnight black, dark blue and dark purple colors. The woodwork on the bed frame was elegant but simple, done in a rich cherry wood with a wax sheen and carvings of mountains and forests with all sorts of animals on the head and footboards. The carpet in the room was a very fluffy carpet that just made you want to take your shoes off and curl your toes into the thick material that was also a midnight black color. The walls, however, were a very welcoming warm, beige-yellow tone and the ceiling was charmed to be sky blue with fluffy clouds.

Off to the right side of the door entering from the hallway were two cherry wood wing-backed chairs with soft black leather cushions and a divan directly opposite the chairs with the same soft black leather cushions. A coffee table made from cherry wood and intricately detailed with Celtic looking patterns sat between the divan and chairs. Ash immediately made his way to sit at the divan with Hermione while Rowan drew up three more chairs in order to seat everyone.

Once they were all seated Rowan and Ash both took out the small chests Ash's mother had given them to help them with their tasks from the previous few weeks. Ash took a look at the three men and what their expressions were since he knew them the best out of the teenagers there. Remus looked to be slightly impatient to find out who the two boys were and how they knew the men. Orion was confused about why the boys were looking in the chests and Severus Snape was looking about ready to snap at the boys to just tell them what in the world was going on already so he could get back to his life. Little did the three of them know, that the contents of the information of this meeting would change all their lives.

After only a few seconds, when Rowan had the letter for his father and his birth certificate and Ash had the letters for the two other men and his birth certificate, the two young men looked at each other and Rowan nodded to Ash to begin.

Ash looked each of the four men in the eye and started, "I'm sure the four of you are wondering what is so urgent about this meeting. My mother left this chest," here he gestured to the chest he had taken the papers from, "with my aunt because she knew that we would need it. Just recently, it opened, and I found two letters in there for myself, one of which told me to come here and be ready for this meeting with you. The other information she told me in the letters was a bit shocking to me and she knew that unless she wrote letters to you herself then you would not believe me. So, with no further distractions, you should read these letters and then ask me any questions you like. I can not guarantee that I will answer all of the questions but I will not lie to you." Having finished, he handed a letter to Orion and Professor Snape while Rowan handed the letter to Remus. While they were reading the letters Ash quietly explained to Hermione what was going on.

Orion was first to finish his letter, looking only slightly surprised, and most certainly not surprised at what the others thought he was. When Severus picked up his letter he recognized the handwriting his name was written in immediately. Hands shaking slightly, he opened the letter and began to read:

_Dear Severus,_

_Hello my dear Carwyn, I suppose you are wondering just what is going on. Well, you, Sirius, and Remus all had memory charms placed on you to make you forget that Ash, or Harry as you have known him, was your son. These charms also made you forget that you were friends with each other. Sirius' letter is slightly different because his imprisonment in Azkaban shocked the memory charm away. He has known of these things for a while, but because of some advice I gave him and the fact that he knew he would not be able to take the charm off, as he is not an Evans, and you would not believe him without taking the charm off, he has acted as if he still had the memory charm placed on him. _

_You might wonder why we agreed to the memory charm and as soon as it is taken off you will know, but I will give you a few reasons now. One was that you were about to go on an extended mission for Voldemort, one of the ones that was intended to test his followers. Knowing that you had a son, and a wife who is a Muggle-born witch, would not help you on the mission especially if Voldemort managed to catch you off guard and find out about us by Legilimency. So, my sister and I decided we should use a memory charm that only those in our family could use, you will find out why only people in the Evans family can use this specific charm later, probably at the same time as our son does. This way, we could replace your actual memories with false memories and Voldemort would not be able to detect the memory charm. _

_James and I continued with our fake marriage and allowed you to believe that I had left you for James. We were hoping that we would be able to take the memory charm off as soon as you got back, but, alas, it was not to be. Since you are reading this then James and I died before you got back. Yes, I know you are alive as I have Seen some things in the future that involve you and Ash, although a few of those things are now in the past from your perspective. I want you to know that James and I never did do anything with each other, I remained faithful to you and your friend did not desert you. We were hoping and waiting for you to come back. _

_Sev, Carwyn, I love you and always will. Stop hating Ash for something that did not even happen. Also, question every spell that is placed on you and their origins. Voldemort is not the only evil in the world and, unfortunately, you may need to help our son defeat more than just Tom Riddle. Be his father, he needs one, he needs YOU. Help him on the road to fulfilling his destiny and teach him all you can, mostly, though, just be there for him to talk to, or not talk to, as the situation warrants. I know you are a wonderful man underneath the cold mask you project and my son has read my journals, Sev, he has seen this part of you, too. Do not hate him for something he had no control over and something that did not happen. Do not allow the memory charms I did not cast to taint your view of your friends, break them Sev, learn what I put in your mind and what someone else did. _

_Now, either our son, or our nephew, Rowan, can take the memory charms off. The memories will come back gradually over a course of two weeks. They will start with the most recent to be memory charmed from you, and, as the counter charm the boys are using is fairly strong, even memories that Jasmine and I did not block will be unblocked. A strong headache potion will be in order for the first few days as the starting influx of memories will put a bit of a strain on your brain. Remus will need one as well. After the first few days the memories should come at a more sedate pace and not cause anymore headaches. Please, for me, allow your son and your brother to get past your shields. Moony already knows what you are really like even without taking the charms off as he is smart enough to figure out that the cold mask is just that, a mask. Don't keep shutting people out and do not give up hope on your godson. My boys (I am including Rowan as he and Ash are twins in everything but blood) and their cousin have many surprises up their sleeves, do not underestimate them Sev, as doing so can be quite costly (James and I have found that out numerous times already and they are barely over a year old!). _

_Severus, Carwyn, do not punish yourself for being happy when I am not there, I want you to be happy my love. Good luck, and love always, my Carwyn,_

_Forever Your Carys, Lily Evans Snape _

Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master and spy, with a supposedly unflappable disposition was gob smacked. He read the letter in his hand over again and again before he looked up. Remus Lupin was also reading his letter over again to be sure he had not missed anything. His letter was from his wife, Jasmine, and said:

_Dear Nuada,_

_Hello my dear Nuada. Lily has told me of her visions concerning our sons and her idea to make chests for each of them. She asked me if I wished to write you a letter and put it in our son's trunk for safekeeping until it would be time for you to read it. Obviously, I said yes and, since you are reading this, I am no longer there with you. According to my dear twin, our son has not had a great life. Nor has his cousin for that matter. _

_Help him, help them both, they'll need you in the coming months and years. Be there for them, Nuada; protect them as if they are your cubs, for they are. Make Ash your cub as well, ask Rowan about how to do this without changing Ash, I promise it can be done and it will give Ash more protection and power. Tell our dear friend, Nightshade, to claim Rowan as Childe; I do believe he already knows how to do so without turning our baby boy._

_Knowing you, you have already figured out that there is some sort of memory charm on you. You, Padfoot, and Nightshade, decided to be memory charmed shortly before Nightshade had to go on an extended mission with Voldemort, or, as Rowan has tried to call him, Moldywort, in order to prove his loyalty. There were many reasons for doing so but the foremost reasons were for Severus, Lily, and Ash's safety. Either our son or our nephew can take the memory charms off but no one else can. The boys can tell you why only they can but they will most likely not explain this where they are now as most of what they need to reveal to you must be done in the utmost of secrecy and, even with all the security charms on the rooms, the Leaky Cauldron is not secure enough. Be patient, and they will reveal what you need to know when and where they choose. Remember that they are not holding things from you just to annoy you and that if they do not tell you something then they must have a good reason, whether it be that they feel you are not ready to learn something yet or that you need to be somewhere more secure for them to talk does not matter. Our boys (I consider Ash to be one of mine too, especially since the little rascals are practically already joined at the hip and they are only 14 months old as I write this) are smart, wise, and amazing young men from what Tigress says about their futures. _

_Be there for our boys and for Nightshade. They will need your calm presence in the turmoil of changes and adjustments you will all be going through these next few months. They will especially need your calming presence as all of you discover the depths of deception that one who is well respected has stooped to. Utilize that wolf patience of yours and tell Severus that when you two are with the boys you should not mask your 'conditions'. Much has happened to those two young men and they will feel more at home with both you and Severus if they can detect your being a werewolf and Nightshade's being a vampire. Rowan has already gone through his first transformation and he has much more knowledge about werewolves than you because of reasons you will have to ask him to enumerate. You will need to remain as close to him as possible within the next few months so the sire-cub bond can reassert itself and readjust now that the two of you have met up again. _

_I love you, my Nuada, and I will always love you. Do not forsake your own happiness because I am not there to be with you. _

_Stay strong, love,_

_Your Muirne, Jasmine Evans Lupin_

Severus began to utilize the chance to observe the young man seated across from him more closely. Taking in every detail of his son that he could see he noted that the boy's midnight black hair had begun to grow and was just above chin length now with dark auburn and dark golden highlights. The pupils of his eyes had taken on a more diamond shape, and changed to look sort of purplish, with specks of silver sprinkled among the forest green irises around the pupils. The boy, Harry, no Ash, he remembered Hermione saying his name was, looked to have grown about 6 cm (approx. 2.4 in.) already, to bring him to 5 feet 7 ½ inches (approx 171 cm). His skin was a bit paler but looked to have a healthy glow about it and his lips were a wine red color. The oddest thing, however, was not the unusual amount of growth he had gone through so quickly but that his ears looked almost as if they were beginning to change to gain a point to them at the top. Ash, thankfully, had his mother's nose but inherited his father's high, angular cheekbones and chin. When he finished with his perusal of his son, he looked over to the others and found Remus looking his son up and down.

Rowan was a tall young man, about 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.). The front part of his hair was cut angled down starting from eye-level to just above the shoulders, forming an odd sort of bangs compared to the mid-back length of the rest of his hair. Medium brown and deep auburn highlights were interspersed in his vibrant, honey colored tresses. The back of his hair was pulled back with the bangs framing his slightly pointed ears. Shimmering forest green irises speckled with gold surrounded midnight purple pupils that were an almost four-point star shape within the rounded irises. His skin was tan and his lips were a slightly lighter shade than Ash's. He also inherited his mother's nose, which is a near match to his cousin's, as well as his mother's chin. However, he had inherited his father's strong but softly rounded cheekbones and lean build.

Everyone was finished reading and an uncomfortable silence settled over the group before Rowan spoke up saying, "Well, do you three want us to do the memory charm now or later today?"

Orion answered, "I do not know exactly how you two knew it was me but I can guess it has something to do with having your mothers' eyes. Anyway, the memory charm broke when I was thrown into Azkaban. Some of the memories were bad, or rather not happy, so the Dementors forced the charm to break. The past two years I have desperately wanted to tell all of you but I knew Severus would never believe me without being able to break the charm and I remember Lily and Jasmine telling us that if anything happened to them only the two of you could perform the charm. Although, I suppose since they said it had something to do with the Evans' blood that your cousins, Mark and Saiph, and your Aunt Cally, will be able to do it too, even if they do not have enough power to now."

"Okay," Rowan replied, "and, yes, they will be able to do it eventually but do not have enough control over their power right now. Out of curiosity, did you all find out about Uncle Nathan and Aunt Victoria when you looked at the incoming students list and found Mark's name?"

"Yes, Minerva pointed it out and we were curious as to whether or not he was related to you so Professor Snape brewed the Ancestry Potion," Remus said.

"I would like to have the reverse memory charm done now if you do not mind," Remus stated and Severus nodded along with him. Severus then added, "I already have strong headache potions brewed as I was brewing them earlier for Poppy but was running late and unable to drop by the infirmary before coming here so I have some with me. Should we take them before or after the charm is done?"

"After," Ash replied. Then Ash and Rowan stood up and walked to stand in front of their fathers. Each pointed their new wands at their fathers'' temples and made a circular motion followed by a circular motion the other direction and a flick while saying, "_restituo memoria vere (restore true memory)." _ Severus and Remus immediately began to be bombarded by so many memories at once that they could not make out one from the next. Severus reached into his robes and pulled out two clear crystal phials full of a cyan colored mixture and handed one to Remus while uncorking and swallowing the other. Remus followed suit, pinching his nose, and gagging at the taste of burnt cheese and strained spinach. The potions helped with the headaches nearly immediately but the memories were still coming too quickly to be discerned from one another. Hermione became impatient with the lack of talking and immediately inquired, "Well, is it working?"

Remus smirked slightly at her anxious tone thinking that some things never change and informed her, "Yes, it is working but the memories are coming back too quickly right now for me to make one out from the other. I suppose it will be a few days before I can distinguish between them and even longer before all the blocked or modified memories are restored and properly categorized. Which brings me to my next question, will this effect the holds Severus has on his Occlumency shields?"

"Yes, it will," Rowan answered, "but, he no longer has to spy." Here Rowan held up a hand to forestall any protestations and turned to address Severus directly, "You have always been a spy, you did not choose to be a Death Eater and you have no sins to atone for in that regard. Even if you did then I would tell you, in no uncertain terms, that twenty years of spying, pain, and loneliness more than make up for anything you have done in the past. Ash and I can talk to animals, ALL animals, and since Legilimency can only be used on snakes by one type of magical serpent and that magical serpent will not serve anyone as dark as Voldemort, we can quite easily use snakes as a source of information, along with a few other sources so that we get different points of view and are sure that we are getting as much truthful information as we can. We also know how to get rid of that mark on your arm. However, the procedure for doing so is complicated and we should be in a much more secure place than this when we tell you about it and perform it."

"Any other questions," Rowan added at the end.

"Why are your ears going all pointy?" Sirius/Orion queried, ever so tactfully.

Rowan and Ash chuckled a little before Ash replied, "Mom and Aunt Jasmine were actually ¾ Elves. Their father was an elf who lived in the Muggle world as a Muggle since he was born and did not make the final Transformation, or completion of Elven puberty, so he appeared to be a Muggle and, as he only had Elven magic not human magic, he did not go to Hogwarts. Their mother was a half-elf whose mother was an elf that grew up in the Elven lands and made the final Transformation but she wanted to see what the outside world was like and so she used Elven concealing spells to make herself look human. She married a Muggle man and had one daughter, our grandmother. Aunt Cally, or Petunia as you have known her before, has missed the final Transformation but will be able to utilize a little bit of Elven magic as her own human magic unlocks itself. Mark may or may not have dominant Elven blood since his father does not, nor is his father a wizard, and his mother does not have Elven blood at all, nor is she a witch. On our sixteenth birthday, Rowan and I will go through with the completion of Elven puberty but we will still be able to use human magic since we are part human as well. We will have pointy ears and our pupils in our eyes will have an odd shape that they are already beginning to take as well as being a dark purple color instead of black, but those are the two most prominent physical differences. The only others are that Elves are usually fairly tall, the average height for male Elves being around 6 feet 8 inches and the average height for females being about 6 feet. Also, Elves tend to have a sort of golden or silver sheen over their eyes, even the whites. The last Elves who also happened to be a vampire and a werewolf lived during the Founders' time so we are not sure how it will affect that but we'll find out."

"Okay," Remus said slowly, as if still trying to process everything he had been told, "What do you mean about your Aunt Cally's magic unlocking itself?"

Ash answered again, "Aunt Cally and Saiph, previously known as Dudley, do not know how to read. Because of this, their magic shut itself off from them, effectively making them Muggles until they learn to read. Saiph will probably learn more quickly than his mother since he is younger and does not have any learning disabilities. Aunt Cally, however, has Dyslexia, so learning to read will be harder for her. Speaking of Cally and Saiph, Padfoot, did my mom ever ask you for an extremely unusual favor about a year before I was born?"

Rowan smirked and said, "I think what my dear cousin is trying, and failing, to say is, did Aunt Lily tell you she had a friend who wanted children and ask you if she could use some of your sperm sample from the store the Order had to help her friend?"" When he finished with his question, Severus and Remus looked entirely shocked, like they had known nothing about this piece of information even before the memory charm, and Albus Dumbledore looked even more amused than before, his twinkling eyes having stepped up a notch or two.

"Uh, yeah, right, what he said," Ash muttered, turning slightly pink.

Orion shifted in his chair slightly and nervously replied, "Yeah, she said that the friend was in the Muggle world and that she did the charm thingy to see how compatible we were in magic, blood, and personality. She told me the magic and blood compatibility would help the kid be healthy and that a personality match would also make it more likely for the kid to be magical. She also told me that it would be a while before I could meet her friend, if I wanted to, because of certain circumstances Lily would not tell me about. I agreed because I felt it was the right decision. Why?"

Ash picked up a piece of paper from the top of the stack in his chest and handed it to Orion, saying, ""Welcome to the family Uncle Padfoot."

Orion just stared at the birth certificates before looking back up to see Ash and Rowan smiling slightly at him. He shakily asked, "I… I have a son?"

"Yes, you do, and the Saiph we were talking about earlier is your son," Rowan replied gently, aware that Orion was very shocked by this news.

"So, I will get to meet him today?" Orion exclaimed.

Ash chuckled and said, "Yes you will, but he will probably be a little bit wary of you and awkward since he has never met you before and it is an odd situation. Aunt Cally will probably also be awkward with you and wary with all of you because she does not trust easily and she is going to have to work through that. Please, be patient and careful with them, okay?"

Orion could only nod, shocked at how serious Ash was being and wondering what could make her so untrusting. An uneasy silence ensued as the other adults in the room got the feeling that Ash was not telling them something, but were all unsure if they should brooch the subject then or leave it for later.

Hermione decided for them by asking, "So, Rowan, where did you grow up?"

"I lived with the wizard who kidnapped me until he died when I was three. He was about like Dursley only he had the added advantage of using magic. When he died I was sent to an orphanage not far from where he lived, which, coincidentally, was not far from where Ash lived either. You have probably heard of it, the name was Judas's Home for Boys," Rowan told her. She immediately paled at the name of the orphanage and the three men in the room got the impression that Rowan's going there was not a good thing. After letting that information sink into her brain Hermione nodded for him to continue if he wished.

He went on, "It was not a great place and I ran away when I was five. A few days after I ran away, a couple of Elves came across me in the woods about a mile from the orphanage. They realized that I was badly hurt and also that I was part elf so they took me back to the Elven realm and healed me. Then I was apprenticed to one of the elves to learn about the physical fighting arts, as well as about their magic and history. My master was part-Elf as well and liked to travel, originally lived among Muggles as well, so I was taught about the Muggle, Wizarding, and Elven worlds, and visited all three. But, I have a place in the Wizarding world now and it is my time to return to it."

"What are you two doing this year?" Ash asked Remus and Orion.

"I am going to be Defense teacher again," Remus replied. Ash and Hermione broked out into grins and whooped. Remus smiled at them.

Orion added, "I am going to be History professor as Binns has not been seen for a while. In fact, a lot of the Hogwarts Ghosts have not been seen for a while. I am pretending to be Minerva McGonagall's nephew."

Remus, although the subject had changed already, still looked interested in what could have happened to his son at the orphanage, but knew that it was not the time to start with that subject. So, the group settled back into silence but then Ash's stomach rumbled and Hermione checked her watch, saying, "Oh my, we have been talking for quite a while now, it is nearly seven o'clock so it is no wonder that you're hungry Ash."

"He's not the only one," Rowan added, "I'll call a house-elf (Hermione scowled at this which did not go unnoticed by Rowan, he decided he would deal with her protestations after the house-elf got their food) and order some dinner to be brought up then we can get Mark, Cally, and Saiph," with that he snapped his fingers twice and a house-elf dressed in a clean royal blue pillow case with the Leaky Cauldron logo on the left breast appeared in front of him. He asked politely, "Hello, Gill, we would like dinner to be served here in this room for us. Is this all right with you?"

"Yes, Mister Moon, if I can just take your orders I will take them down to the kitchen and your food will be up as soon as possible."

"Okay," Rowan said to Gill, "well I would like the grilled chicken with a salad. If it is not too much trouble I would like carrots, grape tomatoes, some shredded parmesan cheese, basil and oregano herb shavings, alfalfa sprouts, pickles, fresh spinach and red cabbage, and Balsamic vinaigrette on Romaine and Iceberg lettuce salad. A bowl of vegetable soup, a slab of honey wheat bread, and just a glass of ice water for drink, as well, please," Rowan requested.

"That is not a problem, what about you gentlemen and you young lady?" Gill inquired, while Rowan stood up to go retrieve the others so they could place their orders.

Ash got the same things as Rowan but without the cabbage and with black olives on the salad and chicken and vegetable soup with noodles and water for drink as well. Remus and Severus both got grilled salmon with sides of broccoli and corn, as well as pumpkin juice. Orion ordered a steak done medium-rare with a loaded baked potato and steamed cabbage for sides and butterbeer to drink. Hermione, rather begrudgingly, ordered a grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans for sides and lemonade. Mark ordered fish and chips with water, Saiph requested a grilled pork slice with mixed vegetables and a cup of tea while Cally ordered vegetable beef stew with a small salad and slice of bread and a cup of tea to drink.

Before the little elf could leave, Rowan also requested a large bowl of cantaloupe slices, pineapple chunks, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, and mango slices for all of them to share. The little elf said that the food would be sent up shortly and that fruit cups would be sent up for each of them.

As Cally, Mark, and Saiph, sat down to join them to wait for the food, Rowan introduced them, indicating the people as he said their names, "Everyone this is Aunt Cally, her son Saiph, and our cousin Mark. Cally, Saiph, Mark, this is my father, Remus Lupin, Ash's father, Severus Snape, our godfather, Orion Robertson, and a friend of ours, Hermione Granger."

Mark sat down on the divan beside Ash while Saiph sat on the floor in front of his mother who sat in a chair Ash had conjured for her. Orion looked slightly nervous and stunned at how Cally really looked, Ash had explained about the appearance charms shortly before the three had entered the room. Cally had auburn hair with golden and blonde highlights, milky white skin, full, dusty rose colored lips and a shapely body. Her hair fell down her back in gentle waves, unlike the curls her sisters sported, and stopped at just about waist level. She was wearing the same lilac robe from the day before since she had no others.

Rowan decided to address the issue of house-elves with Hermione before she could get too upset. He turned to her and started, "Hermione, it is good for you to want house-elves to be treated better than they are, but you should learn about a person or creature before you try to rectify what you perceive as wrong. House-elf magic deals solely with household chores, warding, and protecting those they are bonded to. In ancient times the house-elf chose who they bonded to, so money was not a factor, it was the need and merit of the family that pulled the house-elves to them.

"Also, house-elf magic is very in tune with the magic surrounding us, so they often times feel a pull to serve someone, even if they are already in service to someone else. This is why Dobby was able to warn Harry back in your 2nd year. When a house-elf is freed from the bond they have with a person or family their magic will begin to deteriorate, and they will eventually die, unless they are bonded to another person or family.

"What's more, house-elves in ancient times did wear clothes until the current custom was brought up of house-elves wearing pillow cases or curtains and being given clothes to signify the termination of the bond. This custom came about because house-elves did not always know how to read and it was an easy way to signify that the owner no longer had need for the elf. Families who go by the original customs teach the elf to read and give the elf proper clothes but are still bonded to the elf and a contract is drawn up, if the elf feels a pull to another person they are allowed to follow it and if the master or mistress is not satisfied with the elf then they can terminate the contract as long as they have good cause.

"I quite agree that there are many house-elves who should be relocated because they do not receive the proper care, but trying to free them, when all that would accomplish is their deaths, is not the way to go about it. You should start lobbying to make it illegal to have a house-elf without a contract, that way if the wizard breaks the contract then the house-elf can be removed and placed in a better home."

Hermione looked slightly frightened that the house-elves would die and blurted out, "Oh no, I left all those clothes around last year for the elves to pick up,"

"Dobby is the one who took all of those clothes, Hermione. The other elves would not touch them and eventually would not clean the tower because they did not wish to be set free. I also imagine Hogwarts elves are treated rather nicely, since I can not imagine Hogwarts condoning the type of treatment other people see fit for them," Ash interrupted.

"No, she doesn't," Orion added. "Anyone who tries to harm a Hogwarts house-elf will get quite the shock, literally. There is one elf, Dobby, who has not bonded with Hogwarts because he felt the pull to a new master. I do believe that new master is you, Ash, and no one can contest you taking him as your house-elf, as the law still upholds the rights of the master who is master because of the bond. If you wish to do the bond then you will need to do so on or right after your 16th birthday. Do you wish to?"

"Yes, I do," Ash replied, "I was wondering how soon I could do so. Right after my birthday I will perform the ceremony with him. Rowan has told me about house-elves and that is one of the reasons why I tried to visit Dobby as much as possible last year. Is that okay with you, sir?" Ash awkwardly asked his father.

"It is fine, Ash. Besides, the decision is not mine to make. When an elf feels the calling to a new master, no one else can interfere with the new master's decision."

"All right then, the only thing left to discuss is what to do about Harry," Rowan calmly presented to the group. Hermione then gained a very thoughtful, faraway look on her face and Ash looked shifty, as if he had already thought of this topic. The others, however, looked completely confused, and Orion promptly told them so, saying, "I don't understand, what about Harry. I mean he will live with Severus now that you all know the truth, right?"

"No, Papa Snuffles," Ash intercepted, "that is not what we mean. The potion will wear off soon and I will look like I am meant to look like. I have a feeling that the scar will have faded enough to at least be non-noticeable except to those who know it is there, or else that it will be gone completely. Oh, do not think I mean the connection will be gone, that goes deeper than the scar, but I have a feeling that the scar itself was being held in place by the mimicry charms. Since it was the result of such powerful magic to affect my appearance, even through the potion and charms, it would suffice to say that the charm took it on as part of the appearance it was supposed to project. You can do a few things about 'Harry Potter' disappearing. One option is to say that 'Harry' died, the other is to say that he went away to train, and the third is to have someone pretend to be 'Harry' while Professor Snape's son Ash is transferred along with Professor Lupin's and so no one is the wiser. With the first two options you have to consider that it will be suspicious that the two of us show up right after ''Harry Potter' disappears or dies and with the third you have to consider that those close to 'Harry' or those enemies he had who would have kept a close eye on him, such as Malfoy, would most likely notice a difference in behaviors and such."

"Well," Remus started, "I have to agree that the third option is the best. Even though you could, theoretically, announce the ruse James and Lily were keeping and that you are Harry Potter. Though, I have a feeling you wish for a break from all of that and, even if that were not the case, there are many people out there that hold high positions in the government and would most likely say that Severus raped your mother and then lock him away in Azkaban, instead of listening to the truth. I do know of someone who can pretend to be Harry and I shall contact him as soon as possible. Then, I will have him come and Severus can give him the A&D Mimicry Potion and I can perform the charm. We should probably make enough to last for a few years, at least. After that is done, he can stay with us and learn how to be Harry Potter. Does that sound good to all of you?"

"Sounds great," Ash replied, ""What do you think, da-father?"

"That sounds fine to me," Severus answered, catching his son's hesitation at saying dad, "what about the rest of you?"

Everyone else nodded their acceptance and, so, with that out of the way, Ash decided that he should tell Cally that Sirius was not dead like Vernon had told her after Dumbledore sent the letter that told them of what happened at the Department of Mysteries and spoke up, ""Hey Aunt Cally, you know the letter Dursley mentioned earlier this summer?"

"The one that said your godfather was dead?"

"Yes, I did tell you that he was Saiph's father, too?" She nodded and he continued, "Well, the veil I told you he fell behind at the battle apparently does not do what everyone thought. He found his way back to headquarters after the battle and they came up with a plan for everyone to continue believing he was dead. He has been disguised as someone else so he does not have to hide all the time anymore. So, with no further adieu, Cally, I'd like you to meet your son's father, Orion Robertson, and Orion, I'd like you to meet your son, Saiph, and his mother, Calanthe."

Sirius/Orion (will call him Orion from now on) stood up slowly and went to kneel beside Cally's chair, he locked eyes with her and said, for once being completely serious, sincerely, "If you would let me, I would like to get to know and spend time with my son. I would also like to get to know you as well, but I will leave that decision up to you. I do not wish to take Saiph away from you, so please do not worry on that, I just wish to be a part of his life now that I can be."

She considered him and his request for a moment before conceding, "My nephews trust you and I trust their judgment. Your request is reasonable and you seem like a nice enough guy."

He smiled brightly at her and thanked her before turning to Saiph. He studied the boy, who he now realized looked amazingly like his younger self. Black hair fell gently in waves down to his shoulders with some blonde and auburn highlights from his mother, his mossy-emerald green eyes had specks of silvery-gray in them, his nose and square-jaws were inherited from his father, but he had his mother's full, dusty rose red colored lips. His skin was slightly tanned and looked like it would tan easily if he spent more time in the sun. He had broad shoulders, like his father, and a muscular, but lean frame, also like his father, although he had more weight which obviously did not fit his frame well. Saiph began to get a little uncomfortable at the scrutiny when Orion finally spoke, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, son. I knew about what Lily was doing for your mom. She asked me if it was alright, and at first I wondered why she would be willing to make me a father of anyone even if I was not, most likely, going to meet the child, but then, something inside me just told me it was the right thing to do. I have always wanted to meet you and see what kind of a person you are and I am glad that I finally have that chance. Like I told your mother, I would love to spend time with you and get to know you, if that is all right with you as well?" he asked, hopefully.

"I, I would like that," Saiph replied timidly.

Orion smiled gently at him and decided to stay sitting beside his son for dinner. Ash and Rowan had wide grins on their faces at this new development and smiled at the three when Gill came back with the food. He set all the food down and everyone began to eat. Everyone talked companionably during dinner and then they decided to head to bed.

"Oh, wait you three, I have another quick question for you before we go to bed, if that is all right?" Ash inquired.

"Yes," Remus said, "what is it?"

"Where is the sword I pulled out from the sorting hat in my second year? Does Dumbledore have it?"

"Yes, it has been on a stand inside a glass case in his office since you pulled it out. I still have no idea where it was before then though," Remus informed him and asked, "why?"

"Because it actually came from my vault that is from Mom's side of the family and I found the scabbard earlier today. I'll have to find a way to get it back," Ash answered.

"Alright, well, where are we all going to sleep?" Orion asked.

They decided that Remus would share Rowan's room with him since the bond between sire and cub was readjusting itself now that the two were back together and they would have to stay as close as possible until it settled. Ash decided to share Mark's room with him so that Severus and Orion could share his room for the night.

Since it was only nine o'clock, Mark was the only one who went to bed. The rest stayed up, talked, and played games. Hermione, Ash, Rowan, and Saiph played exploding snap. The first three having a marvelous time teaching Saiph all about the game and showing him some of the wizard candy like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs. They took turns helping him read the frog cards and getting a collection started for him. After they finished a few games of exploding snap they took turns eating Bertie Bott's Beans or the Whimsical Animal Crackers to see what flavor or animal they got. All in all, by the end of the night Saiph had learned to stay away from the gray and brown Bertie's Beans, what some of the most oddest animals, like Shirttail Penguins (magical penguins that look as if they are wearing a coat with tails) sound like, and collected two Dumbledore's, a Paracelsus, 3 Circes, and a Merlin card.

Remus, Severus, Orion, and Cally talked, well, mostly the men told Cally stories about Hogwarts and how Severus and Lily got together. Remus also tried to get a feel for how well she was learning to read and what could be done to help her. Other than that, Remus and Severus played two games of chess, Remus winning each. Orion played one chess game with Remus in which he almost beat the werewolf. Then Orion and Cally joined the kids in playing exploding snap for one game before they started taking turns eating the candy, during which Orion explained to Cally about the different types of candy. Remus and Severus talked a bit about a few of the memories they caught short glimpses of and discussed how to handle teaching Saiph and Cally how to read and then starting their basic education so that they could have the fundamentals down before they start to learn magic. They looked over what Ash and Rowan had had them doing up until that point to see how far along both of them were.

After the kids, Orion, and Cally finished eating the candy they wanted for the night Remus and Severus joined them sitting on the floor around the coffee table. They talked about what Saiph and Cally would like to learn the most, what Ash and Rowan had gotten up to as kids, and general things that were not too serious or depressing. Eventually, at about 11:30, they all started to get tired and drifted off to bed, anticipating a day of shopping, watching someone learn about the Wizarding world (for the six who already knew about it), and learning about the Wizarding world (for the three who were just joining it for the first time).

**End Chapter 3**


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